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AROUND THE WORLD 



WITH A 




N ID A I 




UNIQUE EXPERIENCES W MANY LANDS. 



From the Papers of the late Baron Hartwig Seeman, 

" The Emperor of Magicians," and William 

D'Alvini, Juggler, "Jap of Japs." 



BY 



H. J. BURLINGAMR^-' 



: JUL201ft§«/ / 

J3IV y — 



CHICAGO: 

CLYDE PUBLISHING CO. 

BOX 851. 



,SfSf 



Copyrighted 1891, 
by h. j. burlingame 






TABLE OF CONTENTS, 



CHAPTER I. 

Introductory Remarks . . ... . . 5 

CHAPTER II. 

Life of Professor Seeman 11 

CHAPTER III. 

Thrilling Experiences with Ole Bull . . 16 

CHAPTER IV. 

A Visit to the Pyramids — The Shooting Adven- 
ture with the Mussulmen .... 22 

CHAPTER V. 

The Czar Befriends the Magician — Tricks of 

Prof. Alexander with Ole Bull . . 33 

CHAPTER VI. 

To England, Africa and India — Teaching Magic 

to thb Zulus . 45 

CHAPTER VII. 

Experiences with a Great Fakir .... 52 

CHAPTER VIII. 

A Problem Solved 58 

CHAPTER IX. 

Martin Luther's Wedding Ring — Seeman Unmasks 

a Clairvoyant — A Wholesale Treat . . 65 



CHAPTER X. 

Willtam D'Alvini, "Jap of Japs" — Early Life 

English and Continental Contracts in De- 
tail . . . 7& 

CHAPTER XL 

'The First Japanese Troupe — Indian Jugglers and 

Their Feats ' . . 89' 

CHAPTER XII. 

To South America with Patrizio — The Patrizio 

Contract 98* 

CHAPTER XIII. 

D'Alvini's Experiences in the West Indies— Per- 
formances for a "Struggling Cemetery" — 
Fistic Powers — Spiritualistic Excitement . 104i 

CHAPTER XIV. 
D'Alvini in the United States . . ... 171 

CHAPTER XV. 

Reminiscences of D'Alvini . . . . . 121 

CHAPTER XVI. 

D'Alvini's Programmes — Before the Footlights 
— Behind the Scenes — "Jap of Japs" Jug- 
gling and Conjuring Programmes as Writ- 
ten Out by Himself 127" 

CHAPTER XVII. 

Psychology of the Art of Conjuring . . . J 37 

CHAPTER XVIII. 
Bellachini ]66' 



AROUND THE WORLD 



WITH A 



Magician and a Juggler. 



CHAPTER I. 

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 

The love of mystery is instructive. Its power is 
therefore great. Eeligions have been founded upon 
it and the doubts it has caused have lost many bat- 
tles of many kinds. 

Children will plead for stories that involve the 
supernatural even though they tremble over the re- 
cital and shudder while they glance over their 
shoulders, expecting to see ghosts and "spooks" and 
hide their little heads under the covers when after- 
ward sent to bed. But they will ask for more ghost 
stories on the following night just the same. 

The boy who can perform the simplest trick at 
sleight of hand is the envy of his pi ay- fellows and 



6 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A MAGICIAN. 

this continues more or less through life. Among 
grown m*en and women at a club or in a drawing 
room if they be shown the baldest trick with a pack 
of cards, those who have not seen it before say "do 
that again" and if they do not discover its method 
will not be content until the so much accomplished 
associate has exposed the manner of its doing. 

This increases among people until they have seen 
the wonderful performances of a professional magi- 
cian and then they give up in despair. The dexterity 
of the great conjurer seems so far beyond their even 
attaining it that they are content to look on in won- 
der and admiration and would no more attempt it 
than they would, without musical knowledge or 
practice, the performance of some grand and difficult 
composition in music, on the piano or other musical 
instrument. 

Even the personality of a great professor of "the 
black art" is mysterious to the masses, and if by a 
lucky chance one of the mystery-working persons 
should knowingly be seen, on the street, by the aver- 
age citizen, he will gaze at the artist and instantly 
and eagerly call the attention of his companions to 
the worker of wonders. A great judge at law, the 
governor of a state, a mighty capitalist, even a dig- 
nified and learned college professor or a scholarly 
clergyman, will turn to look with interest at one of 
the "Wizards," if brought in proximity to him and 
informed of it. 

Should a Blitz or a Herrmann stop to play some 
sleight of hand tricks or pranks upon the street, 



INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. ( 

every one in eye- shot would become, at once, deeply 
interested, and should he continue the performance 
any considerable length of time, such a crowd would 
quickly gather that public assistance would become 
necessary to clear the sidewalks. 

The greatest and wisest and most entertaining of 
orators, and lecturers would be unable to attract to 
a hall for a succession of evenings, such immense 
audiences as any successful magician can, though an 
exceedingly great man, announced for a lecture, 
might, for one evening, attract so large, or even a 
larger audience, but the bulk of that would attend 
mainly from curiosity to see the great man, which is 
saying, to invade the mystery of the distinguished 
person. 

How often one hears it said, of some one who has 
sprung into fame and who is going to deliver a lec- 
ture, notwithstanding the fact that the famous one is 
utterly incapable of entertaining his audience as a 
speaker: "Oh well, I will pay the price just to see 
the man and what he looks like." 

That mystery is one of noon-day clearness, how- 
ever, when once the eyes have fallen upon the great 
man and he who is not entertained, in some far dif- 
ferent way, will not "pay the price" again, and fre- 
frequently not then. 

The magician's attractiveness is of a more lasting 
character for his performances increase the mystery 
and the same people will go and see him next 
evening and the next, if they can afford it, unless 



b AROUND THE WORLD WITH A MAGICIAN. 

drawn away by some social or business call that must 
not be avoided. 

In legerdemain the love of mystery, and for cre- 
ating mystery, are prehistoric, and in all ages have 
held sway. He is a rare man who when a boy did 
not exert some very anxious, earnest and strenu- 
ous efforts to obtain a book on legerdemain, or other 
means by which he might learn something of the 
fascinating art, an art that has had its votaries 
among the highest classes as well as the humblest. 

Data at hand tells of a. royal duke, a noble earl, 
an Indian prince, a Koinan Catholic Ecclesiastic of 
high degree, numerous baronets, several great law- 
yers, many doctors of medicine and of divinity, one 
very famous composer and pianist, prominent mer- 
chants, senators, civil engineers and a legion of other- 
wise eminent persons who have delighted in legerde- 
main and who have won distinction as amateurs in 
prestidigitation, which latter word a famous humor- 
ist has declared — by. far-fetched Latin deduction — to 
come from the words "presto" — to pass, "digitis" — 
with your ringers, "taters" — out of a hat. 

The late Professor Palmer, one of the greatest of 
linguists and most accomplished of Oriental Scholars 
was an adept at legerdemain, and in many an Arab 
tent, even to this day, is the story told of the mira- 
cles worked in the Eastern twilight by the wonderful 
"Sheikh Ab-dullah," as the distinguished scholar was 
called by his Bedouin friends. 

There are of course exceptional cases. But the 
love of Conjuring, Sleight of Hand, Magic, Juggling, 



INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 9 

and the kindred arts, with their attendant mysteries,. 
are strong in the human heart, from that of the Voo- 
doo of the negroes, and Medicine man of the Ameri- 
can Indians, to the most exalted of the world, for 
many great magicians, even of our clay are often 
called to appear before the most powerful monarchs 
of the world who have been as much delighted by the 
performances that followed as were the children of 
the royal household admitted to the exhibitions. 
And among those who have been thus honored by 
royalty and the great ones of republics, none have 
been more favored than the two great magicians of 
whom this little book will especially tell, one of 
whom, like the exalted persons mentioned as having 
been enamored of magic, was born to the nobilit'y of 
a great Kingdom, and who by force of circumstances 
was led to adopt the art as a profession in which he 
became one of the greatest masters, and which fre- 
quently led him into adventures and experiences, 
strange, amusing, romantic, unique and sometimes 
thrilling. 

The origin of the magic art, or legerdemain, as 
before remarked, is prehistoric, and even the attempts 
that have been made to give a full history of it are 
altogether unsatisfactory and only involve the matter 
in deeper doubt. It has been claimed upon the 
authority of some obscure passages in the works of 
ancient authors that it originated among this or that 
of the early tribes of men, but these assertions have 
been evidently constructed largely upon surmise and 
all have signally failed to be assuring, though it, 



1 ABOUND THE WORLD WITH A MAGICIAN. 

seems to be quite certain that the ancient Egyptian 
priests employed magic to heighten and intensify the 
mysteries of their religion, a practice that has not 
been altogether disclaimed or even neglected in some 
later religions. As late as 1871, in some parts of 
Africa, semi-civilized, Baron Seeman exposed the 
work of some such priests as those alluded to, by ex- 
planatory and practical revelations of their fraud- 
ulent practices. And this he did among their 
deluded followers in their own country. 

The first authentic accounts of the Magic Art go 
back about 2,000 years and it was then of most primi- 
tive character compared with its perfection in these 
days, though even then it seemed astonishingly 
marvelous to the simple and illiterate audiences of 
those times and the then wonderful illusions have 
given the name of "Magic," a title that has largely 
adhered to it ever since. 

There is a great difference between sleight of hand, 
and "magic." The one can not be seen by great 
audiences and is simply a matter of dexterity for the 
most part, in which movement is said to be so quick 
as to deceive the eye, while the other frequently in- 
volves much of scientific research and may be wit- 
nessed by thousands of spectators at one time, and 
under close watchfulness and proximity by such 
members as may conveniently be near to the per- 
former and his apparatus. 



CHAPTER II. 

LIFE OF FROFESSOE SEEMAN. 

Among all the magicians and conjurers of any 
iime there is not one whose life has been more pro- 
lific of humorous and pathetic interest than that of 
Baron Hart wig Seeman. 

Besides there has never lived one who made a 
profession of the magic art, who was more versatile 
in accomplishments. Not only was he one of the 
greatest in his professional work but in numerous 
other ways he was highly accomplished. Of gentle 
blood he was also a scholar and a scientist and a 
courtl}' genteman withal, whose friendship, esteem 
and association were sought by men of letters and 
legions of persons of the highest social and political 
rank. 

Baron Hartwig Seeman was a native of Sweden 
and was born June 3rd, 1833. His father was an 
officer of high rank in the Swedish army and others 
of his ancesters had been near to the great and be- 
nignant King Gustavus Adolphus the renowned con- 
•querer, under whom they had fought in many lands, 
motably in Russia, Germany, Turkey and France. 



12 AROUND THE WORLD' WITH A MAGICIAN. 

His mother was a gentle and brilliant woman, but 
both father and mother died in 1844 when Hart wig 
was only 10 years old. 

From his earliest boyhood young Seeman had ex- 
hibited a marked predilection for ingenious mechan- 
ism, and a disposition for researches into the occult, 
mysterious and strange, and this led him to the at- 
tainment in youth of many skillful tricks in legerde- 
main and prestidigitation for the surprise and amuse- 
ment of his associates as well as fur his own satis- 
faction and entertainment. 

But for the death of his parents and. the compli- 
cations that followed, doubtless young Seeman's lines 
would have been cast in other places and he would 
have been Author, Poet, Artist, or a bright .star in 
one of the learned professions, for he would have suc- 
ceeded in any of these callings, a fact that was amply 
demonstrated by his after life, for his work in the 
calling that was finally forced upon him brought into 
play much and showed how all-pervading was his gen- 
ius. Left an orphan on the wide world that he after- 
ward traveled over, without human advice he con- 
quered in it honor, success and fame. 

In 1857, in his twenty-third year, we find him 
in Berlin, Germany, the scenic artist of a great thea- 
tre, the Victoria, named doubtless in honor of the 
bride of Crown Prince Frederick, mother of the pres- 
ent emperor of Germany. 

The proprietor of the theatre failed, however, in 
1859, and as he was largely in debt to young Seeman, 
the scenic artist was not only bereft of his situation 



LIFE OF PROFESSOR SEEM AN. 13 

but was almost penniless. Meantime he had been 
happily married to a charming young lady and thus 
the embarrassment, perplexity and precariousness of 
his position was more keenly felt. He was moreover 
well known and honored in society, a position that 
required good means to maintain. So with high 
pride and independence he braved the disheartening 
dilemma and resorted to his knowledge of necrom- 
ancy, legerdemain and magic art, and determined 
to become the great magician that he was in after 
years. 

It was a wide change in the life of the young 
artist but he accepted it cheerfully and went to work 
at that which seemed to most palpably present 
itself. 

Among his effects were a dozen or so of small 
trick boxes that he had constructed during business 
hours, for the amusement of himself and friends. 

With these and the very small sum of, thirty dol- 
lars he started in 1860 on a tour in which he was to 
ply the art of the conjurer. But the tour was' of 
short duration. The treasury was not strong enough 
and he had not yet learned anything of another art 
that in modern times has been very essential to suc- 
cess — the art of advertising. 

Shortly, however, he secured engagements in 
Hamburg, Copenhagen and Christiana and from 
these received a new financial start. Within a year 
he had saved enough from his salary to largely im- 
prove his stock of conjuring apparatus, but had lived 
well and saved money besides. Then he revisited 



14 ABOUND THE WOELD WITH A MAGICIAN. 

Norway and made sach successful tours on his own 
account that within two years he had saved the very 
pleasant sum of $6,000.00. 

While in Sweden and Norway, on his tour he per- 
fected and exhibited the then wonderful illusion 
known as "The Sphinx 1 ' — the living and speaking 
head without a body, which created a great sensation 
and won for Professor Seeman unstinted applause 
everywhere and large quantities of money. 

Having concluded a long engagement in Christiana 
in Norway, in 1868, Baron Seeman in company with 
Ole Bull the famous violinist journeyed toward the 
home of the latter at Bergen, Norway. Ole Bull had 
but recently returned from a tour in the United 
States and had decided to rest and recuperate at his 
villa near Bergen, where he invited Baron Seeman to 
come as his guest for the summer. Seeman accepted 
the invitation but desired to give some performances 
en route, at Christiana and Bergen. With that in 
view he remained six days in Christiana. 

Writing to a friend in Chicago years afterward 
concerning these incidents Baron Seeman said: — 
"While at Christiana I met a friend from Copenhagen 
(Denmark) who had established a clothing business. 
As a beginner he wanted to startle the public and at- 
tract attention by decorations in his show windows 
and for that purpose had, for a large sum, purchased 
a lifesize doll with clock-work movement and had it 
put up during the night. 

He fully anticipated it being a great success. — 
Surmise what happened. 



LIFE OF PROFESSOR SEEMAN. 15 

The first customer to enter his store the following 
morning was a peasant women. My friend was in 
his office, which was connected with the store by a 
glass door through which he could see the woman 
who marched straight up to the wax figure and com- 
menced asking the prices of several articles. The 
figure did not answer, but continued to revolve. 

The merchant was highly amused and did not 
leave his office. 

The good woman evidently considered it very 
impolite on the part of the revolving figure to remain 
silent, and finally took hold of his arm and hand, at 
the same time repeating her questions. But, how 
dreadful — the arm was stiff, the hand cold, the face 
motionless, the gaze lifeless and icy ! — she stepped 
back horrified and rushed with insane gestures and 
screams out into the street to tell the passers-by what 
she had seen. 

Everybody stood still, the street rapidly filled up 
with people, who viewed with horror the revolving 
figure. 

At last a man who had seen such things before in 
large cities, explained matters somewhat, but the 
crowd declared the imitation of a human figure was a 
mockery of God. The authorities interfered and the 
merchant was obliged to remove his expensive figure, 
which was, when I last saw it, standing in a corner 
of his office covered up." 



CHAPTEE III. 

THRILLING EXPERIENCES WITH OLE BULL. 

I left Stavanger by the steamer Motala. We were 
:fco arrive at Flekkef jord, and had been sailing between 
cliffs and rocks, and were just entering the wide sea. 

At the time of which I speak, we were at the most 
dangerous place, the south point of Cape Lindesnaas. 
"We knew a heavy storm was approaching, but it 
came with such suddenness, that it was upon us 
before we had entered the sea. The storm was a per- 
fect hurricane. All passengers, except a foreign sea 
captain and myself, had fled to their cabins, where 
they were suffering more or less from seasickness. I 
stood on deck well wrapped up and holding to an iron 
railing ; snowflakes, hail and rain, sea water and the 
hurricane lashed my face, but my eyes wanted to see ; 
I was anxious to study the force of the elements in all 
their fury, and was not frightened when repeatedly a 
wave dashed over my eyes and blinded me for a few 
seconds. What was such a little discomfort com- 
pared to all that I witnessed. 

The ship moaning and creaking, was lashed by the 
foaming water and rocked like a light feather, so that 



THRILLING EXPERIENCES WITH OLE RULL. 17 

I soon found myself lying on one side, still I noticed 
everything ; I saw the water rise to the sky and then 
as suddenly again dash oyer our ship, as if deter- 
mined to bury us at once, but instead it lifted the 
ship lightly on its back and almost showing us fore 
and aft the bottom of the sea. 

Far and near were sky-scraping rocks under which 
rolled the angry sea ; then cliffs, which during serene 
weather were invisible to our naked eyes, under the 
mirror of the water. The frightened sea-birds 
shrieked in the air while they were being driven 
along powerless before the storm; the whistling of 
the hurricane through the ship's ropes, the cracking 
of the machine, the shouting of the commanding offi- 
cers, the sailors staggering to and fro in vain attempts 
to obey the given orders, all was in wild chaos. 

"Are you not frightened. Mr. Seeman?" I heard 
a voice remark close by me. I looked around and 
saw the foreign sea captain, who had worked himself 
up to me. I answered: "No, why should I be?" 
"Well, you and all of us have very good reason to be, 
for we are now in a most critical position ; look there 
to the right, close to us, that is the dangerous Cape 
Lindesnaas ; the force of the machine will not be 
sufficiently strong to carry us forward, and the hurri- 
cane drives us towards the rocks, if — the remainder 
of his words died under a flood that covered both 
of us. 

I soon regained my senses and looked at the cap- 
tain of our ship. The brave man stood firmly on the 
bridge. He meant to defy the hurricane, and would 



18 ABOUND THE WORLD WITH A MAGICIAN. 

have carried through his intention, but at this 
moment several of the male passengers came up and 
entreated and threatened him by their right, accord- 
ing to marine law, to return to the protecting rocks,, 
if it were stili possible. After discussing it pro and 
con the captain finally consented, and gave the com- 
mand to turn around, a very dangerous undertaking, 
for if the hurricane with all its force had seized hold 
of the ship's side, the vessel would have been easily 
capsized. 

At last, after a hard struggle, we succeeded in 
finding a protected place between the cliffs, against 
which the dust-like sea waves were dashed with fury. 
The anchors were dropped; one broke loose and was 
lost. 

In this place it was comparatively quiet, and the 
passengers, who a short time previously had been 
seasick, began to leave their berths and show some 
signs of life, and even humor, after having partaker* 
of a sumptuous repast. Soon the ship and cabin 
took a different aspect. 

Ole Bull produced his violin and treated us royally 
to some of his wonderful selections. I announced a 
magical performance, which was given, a young lady 
played the piano, the foreign captain treated us to a 
tune on the flute, an Englishman recited Hamlet and 
Macbeth and danced a hornpipe, and others of the 
passengers did their best to entertain us in various 
ways. Champagne and bowls of punch flowed 
freely. 

The following morning two men were found fondly 



THRILLING EXPERIENCES WITH OLE BULL. 19 

embracing each other in the smoking room, their feet 
projecting through the broken window. 

After a delay of one day, and after the hurricane 
had abated, we proceeded to Bergen, and on our 
arrival there we learned of the loss of twenty ships. 

Ole Bull went to his villa and I to my hotel. 
Unfortunately I was taken ill there. I had rented a 
hall for my performance but as I was unable person- 
ally to superintend the decorating of it, I engaged an 
upholsterer to do it. After explaining minutely to 
him how I wished everything arranged, the man 
inquired of me which Missionary Society did I belong 
to. I replied that I belonged to no society, that I 
traveled on my own responsibility, furthermore, that 
I was the well-known magician Seeman. Well — I 
have often seen people astonished and amazement 
written on their faces on discovering their mis- 
take, but the face of the upholsterer will always 
remain before my eyes and impressed on my memory, 
also the answer which he made with wonderful pathos 
as follows : "I don't work for a magician; for the 
Holy Bible says : thou shalt not lie, cheat, nor con- 
jure, for it is to deride God." 

Be not surprised, dear friend, at this almost child- 
like simplicity; there are at this late day everywhere, 
even in free America, canting hypocrites, temperance 
advocates and the like who make similar assertions in 
their foolish conceit. 

However, in spite of the man's conservative ideas, 
I had my stage fitted up to suit me, and appeared in 
Bergen with great success. 



'20 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A MAGICIAN. 

I will here remark that the "Sphinx" was then 
quite a new attraction. 

In the theatre a second rate dramatic troupe was 
playing, with poor pecuniary results. The manager 
thought he would make a hit, if he also could exhibit 
the Sphinx. A mimic in his troupe knew the secret, 
sent for the apparatus and the performance was 
announced. 

Here are two points to be mentioned : 

The Norwegian is an enemy to envy of trade, he is 
frank and honest, but if the one attacked dupes his 
adversary, the former is nicknamed Torskehoved 
»(Codfish-head). 

For the day of the production of the Sphinx at 
the theatre I had announced "Transformation," or 
"A dramatic manager in his true light." 

At the close of the performance one of my friends 
who was disguised to exactly resemble the manager, 
appeared in front and requested in a loud voice to see 
the transformation. 

Everybody recognized the person it was meant to 
represent; the resemblance was striking. I apolo- 
gized to the gentleman and asked him to step up on 
the stage. I then invited him to stand on a low table, 
and covered him with a large cone, fired a pistol 
directly at him and after removing the cone I showed 
that the manager had been transformed into a gigan- 
tic codfish head, crowned with a wreath of laurel, as 
a reward lor the greatest stupidity he could commit — 
Loud laughter — I was victor. 



THRILLING EXPERIENCES WITH OLE BULL. 21 

My performances were at an end and I fulfilled my 
promise given to Ole Bull. 

I went to him at his villa which was about eight 
miles from Bergen. We spent two quiet peaceful 
months, studying, fishing and hunting. They were 
the months of June and July, when in that part of 
the world there is no night. The sun only sets from 
11 to 1 o'clock, and therefore it is always daylight. 
How wisely nature arranges everything ! Our sleep 
was never disturbed by troublesome flies or other 
insects. There are scarcely any in that region. 
Another phenomenon can be observed during this 
nocturnal daylight. There is no reflection of objects* 
in the water during the time the sun has set. 



CHAPTER IV. 

A VISIT TO THE PYRAMIDS. 

Ole Bull and I agreed to leave Bergen in August 
and together travel via Stockholm, Berlin, Breslau, 
Vienna, and Constantinople to Suez, to give per- 
formances in each of these cities, expecting to do a 
good business in Suez at the opening of the Suez- 
Canal, each on his own responsibility. 

In Stockholm we took leave of an audience with 
King Charles XII, who encouraged us to visit Egypt, 
which we agreed to do and also promised to announce 
our arrival in that country to his Majesty. 

With the best wishes of our friends and numerous 
introductions we continued our journey. I shall 
pass over our little adventures in the above named 
cities. The success was immense, but we were dis- 
appointed regarding our expectations in Suez for we 
earned literally nothing; I find through my ex- 
perience that at all exhibitions, inaugurations and 
musical festivals, theatrical people and all artists 
run great risks ; the public is at such times too much 
occupied otherwise. We easily overcame this dis- 
appointment, and prepared to visit the wonderful 
and mysterious Egypt. 



A VISIT TO THE PYRAMIDS. 23 

The Swedish embassador, Count Loewenhaupt re- 
ceived us as compatriots in a most obliging way. 
When we informed him of our promise- to the King, 
he assured us of his protection, and to him we owe 
the fact of being able to keep our word. 

Ole Bull and I were invited to a dinner at the 
embassador's where w r e had the honor to be intro- 
duced to many aristocrats from all countries. 

Ole Bull enthused the company with his heavenly 
violin playing, I amused the guests with my dexterity, 
for which I was applauded most by the Mohamme- 
dans. Ole Bull and I w r ere most pressingly invited 
by some of these turbaned men to come and break- 
fast at a villa belonging to one of the gentlemen and 
situated not far from the city. We agreed, especially 
as they promised us a visit to the pyramids of Gizeh 
in company with several other gentlemen guests, 
about six days later, during which time the prepara- 
tions were to be made. 

The breakfast was very sumptuous, though with- 
out any wine or other spirituous drinks. We followed 
the customs of the Mussulmen, viz., to eat our 
breakfast crouching on soft cushions spread on the 
floor, and later on to smoke the Tschibuk. 

Ole Bull had wisely forgotten his violin, but I, 
poor me, — T noticed all eyes fixed on me, and knew 
what they wanted. — I was to practice sorcery only 
once. I must own that I was prepared. I proposed 
that we should all go out in the open air, and sup- 
posing that I would produce something, all guests 
followed. 



24 ABOUND THE WORLD WITH A MAGICIAN. 

You will kindly call to mind having learned front 
my colleagues, how a man is shot at and catches the 
marked bullet, — this I intended to produce. I asked 
for pistols and ammunition, and requested someone to 
load and mark the bullet. I placed myself at a cer- 
tain distance, asked the guest to aim at my head, 
and caught the bullet precisely between my teeth. 
All went well until I saw a tall, thin Mussulman come 
slowly toward me, who asked if he could use his own 
long gun and bullet for the same trick. (I must 
here remark that the conversation was held in 
French.) I was in no way prepared for such an 
offer, but without a moment's hesitation I replied : 
"Certainly, right aw r ay." 

Happily for me, this gentleman was a neighbor of 
my host, and his property lay at a distance of about 
two hours. 

"Very well," he said; "I invite all present to be 
my guests to-morrow." 

We accepted. I told Ole Bull about my anxiety, 
that it was impossible for me to perform what I had 
promised, but I consoled the true friend, who advised 
a prompt and speedy departure. 

"Good advice comes over night," thought I, and 
so I went cheerfully to my room to rest at the end of 
the day. 

A servant followed me carrying two candles. The 
fellow evidently had something on his mind, he turned 
to go out, at the door he stopped and said : " I heard 
my master make an oath to-day that his bullet would 



A VISIT TO THE PYRAMIDS. 25 

go through your head to-morrow; he never missed 
his aim, there is time yet, — flee." 

I thanked the good man but said that I had con- 
cluded to remain. You will, perhaps, wonder why 
I was so persistent. Simply because after consider- 
ing the matter thoroughly I felt convinced that I 
should come out victor. I worked for fully two 
hours by candlelight, after which I retired quietly to 
sleep until morning. 

At six o'clock I was awakened. The party was 
waiting for me, and in twenty minutes I sat on my 
horse following the cavalcade. I was very much 
amused when I saw my old friend, Ole Bull. He 
was, indeed, on his small horse with bis long curved 
figure, most ludicrous to behold. We spoke very 
little. They knew the skill of our host and, during 
my absence, much had been said as to what was 
going to happen. 

We stopped outside of the wall which enclosed 
the palace of our host. As by appointment, every 
one stopped, only the host entered his property, but 
immediately returned with a long costly gun, with 
powder and shot. Without asking me whether I was 
still willing to be shot at or not, he deliberately be- 
gan to load. " I have forgotten," I said, " to see the 
caliber of the bullet, I should like to look at it." 
Nobody objected and I took a bullet, which I handed 
to Abdul Hadschi, who put it in the gun. I asked 
him to shoot first at my hand instead of my head. 

I placed myself close to the wall with outstretched 
hand. 



26 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A MAGICIAN. 

The guests formed a semi-circle around the marks- 
man. The report was heard ; — my hand was perfo- 
rated by the bullet, — blood flowed from the wound. 
They all stared at me. Abdul Hadschi looked on with 
satisfied pride. I slowly wiped the blood from the 
inside of my hand, took the bullet from the back of it 
and handed it quietly to the marksman. You can 
imagine what a sensation this produced. Every one 
looked with amazement at me, Ole Bull embraced me, 
but Abdul Hadschi stood like a statue without taking 
his eyes off me. At last he approached me, took a 
drop of blood with the point of his finger, from the 
hand with which I had wiped off the blood, licked it, 
then threw his gun at his servant and requested us all 
to follow him to breakfast. 

The conversation lagged, nobody seemed able to* 
keep it up, some words Ole Bull whispered to me I 
did not understand, and as it was seemly and the 
time for our rendez-vous to go to the pyramids arrived, 
we took our leave. 

Some servants accompanied Ole Bull and myself 
back to Cairo. ''How under the sun did you manage 
to escape this sly and revengeful Mussulman?" my 
friend Ole Bull asked. I explained to him. During 
the night I had made several bullets of wax, which I 
filled with my own blood. After they were cold I 
colored them with dust and rubbed them over until 
they resembled lead. When I examined the real bul- 
let, to ascertain the caliber, as I had requested to do, 
I, unnoticed, slipped the real bullet in my hand and 
put the wax bullet in the mouth of the gun, and let it 



A VISIT TO THE PYRAMIDS. 2 7 

slide down before the eyes of Abdul Hadscbi. When 
the shot was fired the bullet broke against my 
hand, the blood dyed it but did not harm it in the 
least. 

I wiped the blood with the left hand which held 
the real bullet which to all appearances I took from 
behind the right hand. 

"Yes, yes," said Ole Bull, "nobody can trust you 
wizards, but say, that is quite simple. " "Well, Ole, 
have you never heard about Columbus and the egg?" 
Ole shook his finger at me and rode thoughtfully on, 
at last he broke the silence by saying: "You are 
not worth all the anxiety that I go through for your 
sake !" 

We arrived tired and weary at our quarters ; the 
adventure had made us forget that we had eaten noth- 
ing the remainder of the day. 

At last the morning of our pilgrimage to the pyr- 
amids dawned. It was a splendid cavalcade, beauti- 
ful horses, stately men, and a crowd of servants 
mounted on mules who carried refreshments. We 
rode on an average of 30 miles a day, not wishing to 
tire the horses too much, for besides the roads they 
had to travel, they were forced to perform feats 
of horsemanship by their masters. I was well 
pleased to be left alone by these gentlemen. My 
skill had, perhaps, filled them with respect and' 
only at the request of Count Loewenhaupt and Ole 
Bull did some of our companions consent to show 
me some feats in marksmanship, and which almost; 
caused my hair to stand on end. On the fourth day 



28 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A MAGICIAN. 

we sighted the pyramids. We decided to pitch our 
tents and on the following day to go on to the Sphinx 
pyramid, from which point we only had to travel four 
miles to the largest pyramids of Gizeh. I must re- 
mark here that they had given ®le Bull a lady's sad- 
dle, in compliance with his expressed desire to that 
effect. His violin was fastened behind him; he 
would not trust his ''sweetheart" to anybody, not 
even to me. Ole Bull and I spent a very restless 
night. The shrieks of jackals were very dismal to 
our ears, though we had nothing to fear from them. 
Early the next morning, after a substantial meal we 
started, five ladies and eighteen gentlemen. A.bout 
8 o'clock we arrived at the Sphinx which is well 
weather-beaten but nevertheless easy to recognize. 
We remained there about two hours, during which 
time I made vain attempts to reach the edge of the 
pyramid, but without success. At the end of that 
time we continued our journey and arrived, feeling 
quite refreshed, at the foot of the pyramid 
before Gizeh about noon. The heat was too 
excessive for us to think of ascending the 
pyramid. We held a siesta and decided to 
begin climbing the following morning before 
sunrise. We did so, and were asked to stand in 
terraces on the blocks of the pyramid, because Count 
Loewenhaupt wished our pictures taken by a pho- 
tographer, who was present. This picture is still in 
my possession. The ascension was by no means as 
easy as we had anticipated. The pyramid consists 
..of stones from 1J to 2J feet square, which are partly 



A VISIT TO THE PYRAMID?. 29 

decayed and partly loose. An interior staircase 
leads up, but unfortunately at that time the pyramids 
were not open and we lost many a drop of perspira- 
tion and many sighs before reaching the point. Now 
I could probably accomplish it more easily, but at 
that time I was quite stout, and notwithstanding the 
servants (for there were two servants to each person) 
of which one pulled and the other pushed, I was 
heartily glad to reach the top after three hours and 
a half. The view was not exactly imposing, nothing 
but sand whichever way we turned. Located on top 
of the pyramid is a telegraph station used almost 
exclusively by visitors and travelers and consequently 
pays well. Ole Bull unfastened his violin aud played 
his favorite "Bondebrollup" March (Peasant Wed- 
ding March) after that a "Satterholm" (Shepherdess) 
Solo with his celebrated pianissimo, which never 
failed to arouse the enthusiasm of his hearers. I 
went to the telegraph operator and telegraphed to 
King Charles XII. in Stockholm, Sweden, that we had 
kept our word and from the top of the pyramid we 
assured him of our devotion. After a shorter so- 
journ than we had planned, we left the pyramid 
under great difficulties. We rested a few days in 
Cairo, where we gave concerts and performances 
with much success. We had accomplished our ob- 
ject, and now returned to Europe where fate separated 
us. 

Ole Bull has in the meantime joined his fathers. 

How I should have liked to see the interior of the 
pyramids at that time ! 



30 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A MAGICIAN. 

On my return from India in 1873, I again passed 
the Suez -Canal. Then the pyramids were open. 
The mummies from there were then used as fuel for 
the engines on large steamers." 

In this connection it may not be out of the way 
to relate an incident in the career of Ole Bull that is 
entertaining and doubtless new to the general reader. 
Besides, it also concerns another great magician, the 
first famous conjurer that visited the United States 
from any of the old countries, Professor Alexander, 
who came to this country in 1 843 and remained until 
1S47. Professor Alexander won the esteem and 
friendship of Hon. James K. Polk, then President of 
the United States, and many other of the most dis- 
tinguished Americans of that day, for aside from his 
accomplishments as a magician, he was a courtly and 
pleasant gentleman. While at Washington his 
admirers of national favor and influence caused to be 
struck off for him at the United States mint a beau- 
tiful medal of pure gold, which was presented to the 
magician as a token of their admiration. When 
Alexander left the country in 1847, he was made a 
guest on board a U. S. Man of War that landed him 
in Havanna, Cuba, where he started on an extensive 
tour of the West Indies, Mexico and Central and 
South America. 

In ten years' practice of the magic art before his 
audiences, Professor Alexander acquired a handsome 
fortune, and ever since has lived the pleasant and 
contented life of a gentleman of means and good con- 



A VISIT TO THE PYRAMIDS. 31 

science, in a small town of Germany beneath his own 
vine and fig tree. 

Professor Alexander was well acquainted with Ole 
Bull, the violin virtuoso, and the two met at New 
Orleans during the musician's first tour of the United 
States. 

Ole Bull was giving a banquet to some friends at 
the St. Charles Hotel when Professor Alexander 
arrived, and as soon as the magician's presence in 
the house was known, Bull sent for him and a place 
Was made for him at the festal board, where he was 
enthusiastically welcomed by all. 

An opportunity presenting itself during the ban- 
quet, Professor Alexander suggested that he would 
entertain the party with some feats of legerdemain, if 
Ole Bull would, reciprocate by performing on the 
violin. The proposition came about in a very natural 
way, having been first mentioned by some other dis- 
tinguished person present. Of course the proposi- 
tion met with general and hearty approval, and Ole 
Bull accepted it quite cheerfully. 

Alexander proceeded immediately to produce some 
of the choicest of his tricks in prestidigitation, and 
deeply delighted the banqueters with his marvelous 
skill. Suddenly during this performance Alexander 
turned to Ole Bull and asked to see the medal that had 
been presented the musician at Philadelphia, a trinket 
that Bull prized very highly. Imagine the blank aston- 
ishment and mortification of Ole Bull when, upon 
opening the handsome case in which the medal was 
kept, he found nothing except a piece of flattened 



32 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A MAGICIAN. 

lead. Kecovering from his shock, being satisfied that 
he would yet be able to get back his medal, Ole Bull 
proceeded to carry out his part of the agreement, and 
opened the violin case to take out the instrument. 
The musician became pale with fear and trembled 
violently when, upon opening the case, he saw the 
instrument, his precious violin, his "sweetheart," as 
he was wont to call it, in a dreadful state of demorali- 
zation, the strings torn loose and the instrument 
crushed beyond redemption. Not long, however, did 
Alexander allow his friend to suffer so much sorrow 
over his great losses, for he at once produced the real 
violin in a perfect state of good order, as was quickly 
evidenced by the charming strains that its master 
brought from it, and when Professor Bull opened the 
medal case again, there lay the beautiful jewel in all 
its bright and glittering beauty. How Alexander 
managed to play this painful yet marvelous trick 
upon his friend was never discovered. Suffice it, 
however, that the joy brought to the musician by the 
restoration of the violin and medal, far exceeded the 
unpleasantness of the supposed loss of them. 



CHAPTER V. 

THE -CZAR BEFRIENDS THE MAGICIAN. 

Returning to Europe after his visit to Egypt with 
Ole Bull, Baron Seeman continued with unabated 
success his performances in German, Russian, Swe- 
dish and Norwegian cities, and it was during this time 
that the two incidents occurred that shall follow and 
which clearly illustrate Seeman's quick wit and in- 
genuity. 

These incidents are best told in Seeman's own 
words. He says: "It was during one of my tours 
in Sweden that I put up at theGotha Kallare, the best 
hotel in Gothenburg. In the parlors of this hotel I 
found a gentleman waiting for me, who said : 'Now, 
my dear Seeman, this time you must give your best 
private exhibition at my house and not at Liedman's, 
as I can pay as much as he can.' This was the rich- 
est wholesale merchant of the Hebrew persuasion. 
Of course I expressed my willingness to do so, and he 
then said : 'You must come right away now and 
look at my house. We can then perfect the arrange- 
ments.' Taking me in his carriage we drove out to 
his villa. As we alighted we saw an elegantly dressed 



34 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A MAGICIAN. 

lady enter the house. 'My wife ; so much the bet- 
ter,' said the gentleman. I was introduced and in. 
vited to join them in a glass of wine and a piece of 
cake. This being the custom, I of course did so, and 
we then made all necessary arrangements concerning 
the private performance I was to give, excepting the 
most important point — the price I was to receive. I 
lingered intentionally with them some time for this 
reason. At last the moment arrived when I could not 
with propriety remain any longer. Taking leave of 
my hostess, her husband accompanied me to the 
door, but just before we reached it he was called back 
by his wife, who said to him in my presence in Eng- 
lish, 'Do not speak to him about the salary until 
after the performance. It will be cheaper that way.' 
Poor woman, in her innocence she did not know,— 
but — her husband then accompanied me out into the 
hall where I remarked : 'You know, my dear sir, 
that when you close a bargain with anybody you 
always settle on a price. I am something of a busi- 
ness man myself, and will be pleased to have you fix 
the price I am to receive.' He replied : 'Please, Mr. 
Seeman, say how much it shall be.' 'Three hundred,' 
I replied. 'Very well,' said the gentleman, 'good- 
bye;' and with a good-bye from me, I took my leave. 
The performance was given at the time appointed. I 
was afterwards invited to appear, and later we had 
music, after which we talked on all possible topics 
and finally the guests began to leave. Then the gen- 
tleman said, 'Mr. Seeman, will you not look at all of 
our rooms? There are many of them which you 



THE CZAR BEFRIENDS THE MAGICIAN. 35 

have not yet seen. You have amused our guests very 
well, and now you must see our house, especially my 
bed- room, as it is furnished in the very latest fash- 
ion. Just at this moment somebody in a silk dress 
passed by us. It was the hostess, who joined us in 
her husband's bed-room, where he said he washed to 
pay me at once for my performance, preferring to do 
it in his wife's presence. As he said this he laid be- 
fore me on the table three hundred single Swedish 
dollars (now crowns). I did not touch them, but 
said to him that this was one hundred and fifty dol- 
lars less than we had agreed upon. He then said : 
'But, Mr. Seeman, you said three hundred.' 'Quite 
right,' I replied; 'but I meant three hundred Banko.' 
(One Banko is one and a half dollars.) They 
both looked at each other, and then the lady 
said she thought it was dear. Here was my chance, 
and I said in English : 'Madam, If you had first 
spoken about the pay it would perhaps have been 
three hundred dollars, but now after the performance 
has been given, I need three hundred Banko, so I 
can give a hundred and fifty dollars to a poor family 
of this city in your name.' The gentleman paid the 
amount without a murmur, and the next day they 
read in the papers that a poor family had received 
a present of a hundred and fifty dollars from a well 
known lady who did not wish her name to be men- 
tioned. I think that if her name had appeared, per- 
haps she would not have been quite so angry." 

"The following episode from my career as an 
artist through Russia, comes to my mind at this time 



36 ABOUND THE WORLD WITH A MAGICIAN. 

when everybody's eyes are attracted toward the 
political horizon in that country. I am fain to say 
that I tell it, as I do all of my little stories, with un- 
varnished truth. It was in November, 1876, that I 
had advertised my 'Grand Soiree mysterieuse,' in the 
hall at Helsingborg. The next day I was to have 
embarked on board of a steamer, which I had. char- 
tered for six hundred Finnish marks to take me 
through the Gulf of Finland to Reval, where I ex- 
pected to appear, but it happened otherwise. The 
captain of the steamer came and told me that so 
much ice had formed since four oclock in the after- 
noon, that a voyage across the Gulf could not be 
thought of. However, a large English steamer had 
been signaled, and it would arrive at six o'clock to 
take on freight for Hull, England. After talking 
with the captain of this steamer, he agreed to take 
me to Reval for one thousand marks. It was mid- 
night when I got my baggage on board. To my sur- 
prise, I was then told that they could not think of 
starting on the voyage on account of the severe cold. 
Of course I could do nothing else but go by rail. I 
had to go first to St. Petersburg, and from there to 
Reval, and in this manner I would be compelled to 
go along the coast around the entire Gulf of Finland 
at an enormous expense. Taking my family with 
me, and wrapping ourselves up well with furs, we left 
Helsingborg the next day on the train. On arriving 
at Abo, the first city in Finland, I had the good for- 
tune not to be bothered with any formalities by the 
custom house officials. This was also our good luck 



THE CZAR BEFRIENDS THE MAGICIAN. 37 

in St. Petersburg. They were very polite. The ex- 
amination was short, and I was happy. It was ex- 
tremely cold and we were all trembling from the 
effects of it. We were glad to see a sleigh approach- 
ing, drawn by two horses. I had with me a card of 
the hotel where I intended stopping, and requested a 
passing officer to tell the officials in Russian, which I 
did not understand, where to drive us, and he did so. 
My son was in the first sleigh, my wife and myself 
were in the second. During the winter there, when 
there is no work in the country, it is the custom of 
the farmers to go to the cities with their sleighs and 
horses and, securing a license from the police depart- 
ment, make their living as teamsters or drivers. 
They are no more acquainted with the streets in the 
cities than foreigners are, and the only way to arrive 
at your destination is to know where you want to go 
and then tell the driver in this peculiar manner : You 
tap him with a cane or umbrella on the right or left 
shoulder, or point straight aheacl, according to the 
direction you want him to go. Unfortunately at that 
time I knew nothing about this. The sleigh occupied 
by my son flew rapidly out of sight, our sleigh fol- 
lowed slowly. We must have ridden nearly an hour, 
still the Hotel de 1' Europe was not reached. It 
certainly could not be so far. I could not talk to 
the driver, but I knew a way to express my wishes ; 
so grabbing him by the collar, I shook him violently. 
I showed him a ruble, and gave vent to the only 
Russian word I knew, and exclaimed with ve- 
hemence, 'Paschol.' We drove on for half an 



38 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A MAGICIAN. 

hour longer. We were suffering intensely from 
the extreme cold, and, notwithstanding our furs, 
we soon began to freeze. Again I shook the driver 
up, this time more severely, when he stopped, and for 
the first time I noticed that we were outside the city, 
and had halted in front of the only house, a most 
wretched saloon. 

The driver got out and entered the house. We of 
course thought he was inquiring for the right way and 
would return quickly, because it had begun to grow 
dark. I waited a long time, and finally losing all 
patience, got out and entered the house. Imagine my 
surprise when I saw the man sitting at a table behind 
a samovar full of tea, and a glass of vodki. The 
room was filled with the most terrible odors that ever 
offended my nostrils. Ascertaining that the landlady 
spoke German, I had her tell the driver what I 
wanted. I again got into the sleigh, accompanied by 
the driver, and we returned to the city. I suspected 
nothing good from his actions, and accordingly was 
on my guard. My precautions, however, were unnec- 
essary, for in about an hour we arrived at the hotel 
after making many inquiries. I related my experi- 
ence to the head porter and asked him to pay the 
driver. He replied that he knew what to do in such 
a case, and instead of paying him in rubles he gave 
him a sound thrashing, which the driver received very 
meekly and departed in a very humble manner. I 
found awaiting me a telegram from Eeval, relating to 
my engagement. What surprised me the most in the 
telegram was the date of it. It was dated fourteen 



THE CZAR BEFRIENDS THE MAGICIAN. 39 

days before the one I bad seen the day before in Hel- 
singborg. My curiosity had to be satisfied, and I 
found that I had forgotten the difference in time they 
have in Russia, which is not like that of the rest of 
the Christian world. What should I do? I concluded 
it would be best to spend a fortnight in St. Peters- 
burg, and look out for some engagements later on. I 
had with me a number of excellent recommendations, 
and in four days I managed to have an audience with 
the emperor of all the Russians. He ordered a pri- 
vate performance in the Winter Palace. I should 
remark that during this performance I was very much 
disturbed by two splendid greyhounds, one of which 
jumped and pranced around me continuously on my 
improvised platform. I accidentally stepped on his 
foot and he howled most pitifully. I immediately 
apologized for my awkwardness the more I said, 
because I am very fond of dogs. 'You shall have one 
for a present soon if you stay here,' said the Em- 
peror, smiling, 'and now ta"ke the dogs out.' I pro- 
ceeded with the performance and gave my best tricks, 
or, as my wife said, 'played like an angel.' (May 
God pardon her.) This performance at the Em- 
peror's caused considerable excitement and I received 
several other invitations. The Emperor kept his 
word, and at the end of eight weeks the promised 
greyhound was sent to me at Reval. He was a splen- 
did animal, and I have him with me still. He is very 
intelligent, and is a dear souvenir of that unhappy mon- 
arch. I traveled through the Baltic provinces, and was 
undecided whether to go further, when I received flat- 



40 AkOUND THE WORLD WITH A MAGICIAN. 

tering invitations to go to Berlin, which I decided to 
accept. There was one more city I had to visit ; it 
was Goldingen. In this city there are many families 
of the nobility who are very poor. In every city in 
Eussia there is a casino for the noblemen, one for the 
students and one for the citizens. The one for stu- 
dents only where there is a university. Of course 
there is also a casino for the noblemen in Goldingen, 
and it happened to be in the very hotel where I wished 
to stop. On my arrival I went into the parlor, showed 
my passports, registered and talked to the landlord as 
usual. I was very much surprised when he requested 
me to go to my rooms, adding : 'You have not been 
introduced to the members of the noblemen's casino, 
and as these are the club rooms, strangers can not 
stay in them after six o^clock. 

'It will be better for you to request one of the 
noblemen to introduce you.' Nowhere in the world 
had I met with such inhospitality, and I made up my 
mind not to humble myself or lower my pride. I 
was as proud as an Arab, or, if you prefer, as a Span- 
iard, and hence only went to see the members of the 
press. These gentlemen confirmed what the landlord 
had told me, and added that but few rich merchants 
in the city had the honor to be members of the casino, 
and that the noble members were very poor, and most 
of them deeply in debt. The next morning, as I was 
looking out of the window of my room, I saw three 
gentlemen crossing the street. They did not go to 
the door, but came to the open window, and I heard 
them ask the question very plainly: * Is anybody 



THE CZAR BEFRIENDS THE MAGICIAN. 41 

there?' Just as plainly I heard the answer of the 
landlord, who said, 'No.' Then the three gentlemen 
went away. The landlord had lied, because I knew 
positively there were four men in the lower room. I 
wanted to know the reason of this barefaced lie, and 
went down stairs, for at this hour I need not ask any- 
body's permission. There by the window sat four 
men. I could not refrain from asking the landlord 
why he had answered 'No.' He smiled and said: 
■ My dear sir, do you not see the gentlemen in there 
are business men, those outside were noblemen, and 
by " anybody " they mean naturally their equals. 
We are used to it.' The next evening I gave my per- 
formance. The theatre was crowded, and just as I 
was about to give the signal to raise the curtain, sev- 
eral firemen appeared on the extremely small stage 
and took their positions. Nobody had given me 
notice, as ought to have been done according to law, 
and I refused to have them on the stage. Eight min- 
utes passed. Out in the parquet were many students 
and boys who began to stamp their feet. I took the 
bell to give the signal when the chief of the fire 
department appeared. Three minutes more elapsed, 
he went away. More noise out in the parquet. I 
was again on the point of beginning when the director 
of the police appeared on the stage. He was a very 
pleasant' gentleman, and told me he had given orders 
for the firemen to take their positions in the orchestra. 
I thanked him. A regular storm now broke out in 
the parquet. I rang the bell and the curtain rose. 
Some of the boys continued the noise with their feet. 



42 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A MAGICIAN. 

I felt annoyed, and in a few words explained that the 
delay had been caused through no fault of mine, and, 
therefore, for the sake of good manners, the stamping 
could have been omitted. They became quiet. The 
performance passed off to the satisfaction of all. I 
gave two more performances, but did not take a step 
toward being introduced to the casino. Some one 
belonging to the press told me that some of the mem- 
bers felt offended, but I kept my own counsel. On 
the morning of the day I wanted to go away, some- 
body knocked at my door. I called oat, ' come in !' 
a strange gentleman entered and stood before me. 
Without any introduction, he addressed me as fol- 
lows : ' The first evening of your performance you 
insulted in your speech the audience, with whom I 
and several members of the noblemen's casino were 
sitting. If you do not apologize immediately before 
several witnesses down stairs, you will bitterly regret 
the consequences.' « To whom have I the honor to 
speak, and what right,' I began, when he interrupted 
me by saying : ' I am the Circuit Judge, and if you 
do not immediately give the required satisfaction I 
shall have your passport and luggage seized, and 
hand in a report against you.' Had I not owed my 
family some consideration, I could easily have dis- 
comfited the poor wretch, but now I was in doubt 
what to do. My wife's opinion was to send a report 
to the emperor, but there would be much delay and 
annoyance. Again there was a knock at the door, 
and the good-natured face of the director of police 
looked in. 'This is an ugly affair. Mr. Seeman. 



THE CZAR BEFRIENDS THE MAGICIAN. 43 

What are you going to do? They have sent me to 
ask you for a decision. I advise you to apologize. 
You have really done no wrong, but the noblemen 
have decided to annoy you, and by bringing suit they 
can keep 3 7 ou here from two to three weeks. The 
judge will, of course, acquit you, but think of the 
inconvenience. I speak as your friend, and am 
entirely on your side.' I could not possibly humble 
myself to do as those poor stuck-up noblemen wished, 
and refused point blank. 'Bat think of it,' said the 
good-natured man, ' they only ask you to come down 
stairs and simply say, "Excuse me, gentlemen."' 
1 Don't they want anything more ?' I asked, as an idea 
flashed through my brain. 'No,' answered the polite 
director. ' Well, my dear friend if you wish to do me 
a favor, ask the gentlemen to give it to you in writing, 
then I will not have to go down stairs and make 
many words about it ; I know you will do it, won't 
you?' 'Certainly, with the greatest of pleasure,' he 
replied. In about twenty minutes I heard steps on. 
the stairs, and the police director entered the room 
with a paper, on which was written that the under- 
signed gentlemen would feel satisfied if I would only 
say, ' Excuse me, gentlemen. ' 1 put the paper in my 
pocket and went down to the parlor. Six noblemen 
were sitting there. I went up to them, and while 
looking at one asked another : ' Is any of these gen- 
tlemen called Lehman?' All answered ' No.' I then 
said, ' I beg your pardon, gentlemen,' turned on my 
heel and walked out. Tableau. Nobody held me. 
I immediately ordered the horses, and, smiling,. 



44 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A MAGICIAN. 

entered the carriage, which drove off with us imme- 
diately." 

The same greyhound that Baron Seeman speaks 
of in above experience, was a most remarkable and 
intelligent animal. It remained in his family till the 
summer after the professor's death. Shortly after 
their return to Chicago it was so severely injured that 
they were obliged to have it killed. Baron Seeman 
was very fond of telling how, when they arrived at a 
town for the first time, he would send his wife and 
daughter to the hotel, while his son and himself, 
accompanied by the dog, would go to the theatre, 
make their preparations, and when necessary, would 
send the dog with a message tied around its neck, to 
the hotel for his wife and daughter, or for them to 
bring anything he needed, as the case might be. No 
matter how large the town, or how large the hotel, 
the dog was never lost, and nothing could stop him, 
as he was often seen to spring over large obstructions 
in his way. 



CHAPTER YI. 

TO ENGLAND, AFRICA AND INDIA. 

Emboldened by his great success in Continental 
Europe and Egypt, and having accumulated quite a 
fortune, and large additions to his "stock in trade," 
Baron Seeman crossed over from Norway to London 
and stranger events than he had ever yet experienced 
befell him, as the sequel will show. 

In London he leased Egyptian Hall, in Picadilly, 
where, continuously, for more than eighteen months, 
he gave his entertainments to audiences measured 
nightly, only by the capacity of the auditorium. He 
then made a successful tour of the English provincial 
cities, and the leading cities and towns of Scotland, 
Ireland and Wales. Returning to London his tri- 
umphs were continued at the Crystal Palace, Syden- 
ham, and there, for the consecutive nights of six 
months, he was a monarch of Magicians. 

On the night of June 26th, 1871, he took a fare- 
well benefit at the Crystal Palace and received an 
audience of over 40,000, among whom were no less 
than 36 members of royal families, including Nicho- 
las, Czar of Russia, Albert Edward, Prince of 
Wales, Duke of Cambridge, the Shah of Persia, and 
so on. 



46 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A MAGICIAN. 

During bis stay in England Baron Seem an made 
the acquaintance at Southampton of an amiable phy- 
sician, who promised the magician an introduction to 
Captain Couthbert, as soon as the latter should return 
from the Cape of Good Hope ; he had often remarked 
that a magician would do well in that place. Seeman 
had no time to wait for Couthbert's arrival and was 
obliged to leave before he returned. 

A few days later a gentleman was announced at 
the baron's hotel, whose name he did not know, but 
who wished to see him on important business. He 
was a tall and slim figure, and his clerical garb be- 
trayed his profession, — that of a clergyman. His first 
inquiry was if the magician wished to go to the Cape 
of Good Hope. Seeman thought that perhaps the 
visitor had been sent by Capt. Couthbert, but learned 
afterward that he was a member of a committee of 
the Missionary Society, that expected certain results 
through the magician and his performances. Seeman 
agreed to the proposal and after settling all business 
matters satisfactorily, he took ship, "bag and bag- 
gage," at Southampton, and by the merest accident 
it was on board the steamer commanded by Capt. 
Couthbert. 

Baron Seeman was exceedingly happy to find that 
two of his intimate friends, Dr. M. Cotes and the dia- 
mond merchant W. Webbling had joined the expedi- 
tion; the latter was at the same time traveling on 
business. 

Baron Seeman writing upon this subject has said > — 
"Descriptions of travel having been written by 



TO ENGLAND, AFRICA AND INDIA. 47 

abler pens than mine, it is, therefore, not my inten- 
tion to give any such, but only to describe an inci- 
dent in my life which abounds with many even more 
interesting to the casual reader. 

After a. thirty days' voyage we arrived safe and 
sound at Cape Town. I procured room and board at 
the governor's, who was a very pleasant gentleman. 
It was expected of me, and I was willing to fulfill 
their expectations to the best of my ability, that I 
should give my performances as usual — three in 
number. After each, however, I should endeavor by 
a sort of indirect mission to induce the natives to 
join the Christian church. To serve my purpose a 
gigantic tent, with seating capacity for two thousand 
people, with a stage for myself, was soon erected, to 
the amazement of the natives who are mostly em- 
ployed as laborers in the diamond fields. At the 
end of three days everything was ready and I com- 
menced my preparations, the regimental band en- 
gaged for me had held its rehearsals and the day of 
my performance arrived. I must confess that I have 
never experienced the so-called stage fever, neither 
before nor after performances, not even in the pres- 
ence of crowned heads. But on this occasion, as I 
glanced at my audience through a hole in the cur- 
tain, I felt that peculiar sensation known as " goose 
flesh " creeping over me — and I would like to see the 
man who in my position w T ould not have experienced 
a similar sensation. Directly in front of the stage 
was the orchestra, then came the pit for about one 
thousand persons, then the dress circle for the pub- 



48 AEOUND THE WORLD WITH A MAGICIAN. 

lie. Every seat was taken. The dress circle was 
occupied by military people, business men and the 
better class, while in the pit about two hundred 
white and eight hundred native African la- 
borers were crowded together. The _ latter con- 
sisted chiefly of Kaffirs, all Brahmins, Buddhists 
Fetich and fire worshipers ; all laborers were 
admitted free of charge. The bell rang, the orches- 
tra played, the curtain rose and I went on the stage. 
A deathly silence prevailed. I gave a programme 
which I had arranged as I generally do for children's 
performances; but was surprised to, receive no ap- 
plause, at least not such as I was accustomed to — I 
mean applause by clapping of hands, etc. Instead 
of that, those in the pit made such heathenish noises, 
by exclamations, gesticulations, and loud talking, 
that I could scarcely hear my own voice. At last 
my final experiment came and the moment of my 
real object; I had shown how water could be turned 
into wine, how a person is shot at and catches the 
bullet; I had made several objects disappear which 
were afterwards found in the pockets of some one in 
the audience. Now to conclude with, a soldier ap- 
peared on the stage whose head was cut off, and 
when the body was examined it was found cold and 
dead. There was no pulse, and still in a short time 
the man was restored to life and took his seat among 
the spectators. They put their heads together, and 
tried to hide behind each other, and most of the 
natives would have run away, had the doors not 
been locked beforehand. I must add, that I spoke 



TO ENGLAND, AFRICA AND INDIA. 49' 

English nnd that my two friends and twenty armed 
soldiers were hidden on the stage for my protection, 
in case of necessity. Turning to the pit, I said : 
"Now boys, have you understood everything and can 
you make out how those things are accomplished ? 
Answer me." 

"No, master." 

"Well, I will explain it to you, for I am here not 
only to show you something never before witnessed, 
but also to explain how it is done,-so you can realize 
that there are no real wonders in the world. What 
we consider as such can easily be traced to some 
natural cause, or we can not comprehend it with our 
simple minds." 

With great pains I succeeded in pushing and part- 
ly pulling twenty of the wild fellows up on the stage 
and compelled them to form a semi-circle around me. 
I then explained minutely and simply one of the 
tricks and finally had the twenty men repeat it after 
me, and really I wish some of my readers could have 
seen the happy and surprised faces of these wild 
people. One explanation followed another and every- 
thing was performed quickly, though crudely, by my 
anxious pupils. Now came the cutting off of the 
head, but nobody was willing to try the experiment, 
for, they argued, a bullet does not always kill, but 
head off, all over. My soldier was obliged to step 
forward again. The explanations were given easily 
and to the greatest satisfaction and full compre- 
hension of the audience. "Now," I remarked, "you 
all understand and realize that I have solved all won- 



•50 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A MAGICIAN. 

ders in a perfectly natural way ; yes, I have even pro- 
duced so-called miracles, as shown you by your priests, 
they, however, give you no explanation but leave you 
in ignorance to be increased by yourself. But if my 
God and the God of all white people allows an ordi- 
nary man who is not even a priest, to produce more 
miracles than your priests, how much greater and 
better must our God be in whom we believe. We 
white people are surely more clever than you, who 
toil on without ever getting wealthy, but if you were 
clever enough to accept our religion you would soon 
reach the same level ; if you earnestly desire that, 
you need only listen attentively to the man we call 
missionary and do exactly as he tells you. I con- 
tinued for some little time in the same strain. The 
doors had long since been thrown open, still nobody 
thought of or attempted going away. Even after the 
curtain had been dropped and the educated public 
had left the tent, I noticed the brown fellows talking 
together and gesticulating violently, and when they 
did leave they did it quietly and in order. 

The next day was a day of rest. With my friends, 
and accompanied by twenty armed soldiers who car- 
ried baskets w 7 ith little presents, I took a stroll 
through the city. Many of the natives, women and 
children followed us and I made them presents, 
which were received with evident pleasure and com- 
mented upon. My two next performances came off 
in a very similar manner only that my audiences were 
considerably bolder; shook hands with me and came 
up on the stage to show what they had learned. 



TO ENGLAND, AFRICA AND INDIA. 51 

During the day they had visited the cottages of their 
equals and had exhibited to them the tricks I had 
taught them. They had been admired as priests, 
but when they explained the "How," their friends 
commenced ridiculing the priests. I will conclude 
with the remark, that my mission was successful be- 
yond my expectations. The missionaries referred to 
me, and consequently their efforts were richly re- 
warded by many of the savages being converted to 
their Christian faith. 



CHAPTEE VII. 

EXPERIENCES WITH A GREAT FAKIR. 

On June 2nd, 1872, Baron Seeman started with 
his two companions for India. 

He had reaped honors and fame by his exhibitions 
in Cape Town, and in company with his friends from 
London, Dr. Cotes and the diamond merchant Web- 
bling, he arrived in Calcutta June 24th. Their des- 
tination was Benares, the Holy City, the object of the 
journey being to become acquainted with the fakirs. 
The baron's companions had preceded him thither, 
and had telegraphed their arrival. Therefore See- 
man was compelled to hasten his departure. It fre- 
quently occurs that Indian celebrities retire to Ben- 
ares to end the days of their natural lives, and there, 
with letters of introduction from the governor of Cape 
Town, Seeman had the good fortune not only to be 
introduced into the family of an Indian nabob, but 
also to make the acquaintance of the most celebrated 
of all fakirs. His name was Convinsamy, a south- 
erner by birth, and he was returning from a journey 
to Cape Comorin. 

Writing upon this adventure Baron Seeman says r 



EXPERIENCES WITH A GREAT FAKIR. 53 

" Oar conversation was first conducted by and 
through an interpreter, but as he disturbed us in our 
secrets, he was discharged, and we managed to under- 
stand each other by gesticulations. The good old 
man was about the only person in this country who 
recognized my character, and he returned confidence 
for confidence. That same day, accompanied by 
Convinsamy, 1 visited the monuments and ruins of 
the holy places, frequented by pilgrims, and which 
are situated outside of the city. On our arrival there 
the fakir entreated me to leave him alone, so he could 
say his prayers. I left him and investigated with 
interest the decayed walls of a Siva temple. On my 
return I found Convinsamy hanging by the elbow to a 
bamboo with his feet two feet from the ground. He 
was surprised to the utmost when I informed him of 
the secret of this production, and that I had per- 
formed it with my wife in England. His surprise at 
my communication was great, and all his gestures 
and signs were incomprehensible to me, until we were 
back in the city. The interpreter told me that Con- 
vinsamy asked me to grant him an interview the fol- 
lowing day. Having in this way gained proofs of the 
fakir's good will, I invited him to call and pay me a 
visit the next day at noon. He came, and when I 
stepped out on the terrace where a fountain dispensed 
an agreeable coolness, I found him sitting on the floor 
with his legs crossed. After the usual greeting I 
asked him if he was ready to speak to me before wit- 
nesses or alone. Instead of replying, he put the fol- 
lowing questions : "I feel in me to-day a power to 



54 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A MAGICIAN. 

produce phenomena, have you also felt such a sensa- 
tion in brain or body?" I answered truthfully: 
"No." 

"I do not mean a natural power, which works, 
pursued Convinsamy, but a supernatural. Then I 
invoke the souls of my ancestors and they are the 
ones to show their power,- I am only their tool." At 
this remark, I noticed a certain wink in his eyes 
which seemed to ask for an explanation before the in- 
terpreter. I remarked that he was quite right, and 
added that this power was given the fakirs of my 
country as well as to those of the East. Convinsamy 
had in the meantime arisen, and stretched out his 
hands towards the fountain, the sprays of which were 
diminishing. Gradually the fakir stepped nearer and 
the water ceased to fall, but in the basin a metallic 
sound could be heard, similar to the echo after striking 
a bar of metal. These sounds gradually increased 
and became so numerous and rapid, that they resem- 
bled more a shower of hail falling on a zinc roof. 
Now it was my turn to produce something. I pro- 
duced from my pocket a small music box, which 
played the pieces, waltz from the "Freischutz," and 
march from the "Prophet," placed it on the edge of 
the basin, and at my command the metallic sounds 
from the basin of the fountain formed the accompa- 
niment, from which he could infer that this produc- 
tion was not unknown to me. The interpreter was 
dismissed and the fakir commenced showing me by 
gestures and a few English words, that he was pre. 
paring something extraordinary. To my surprise he 



EXPERIENCES WITH A GREAT FAKIR. 55 

stepped up and fastened a black curtain or drapery 
between two pillars of the veranda and then called to 
some one, who evidently was waiting for him in the 
garden. After a lapse of a. few minutes, a very 
pretty girl, in light costume, appeared and stepped 
up on the veranda. The girl was placed on a flower 
stand about six feet from the black curtain, with her 
back towards it. The fakir sat down by me and 
stretching his hands horizontally towards the girl 
without moving a muscle, his nude body, tanned 
brown by the scorching sun of India resembled closely 
a statue of bronze. Staring with wide open eyes at the 
girl, she gradually closed her eyes, her head slowly 
dropped to one side; — she was asleep. Convinsamy 
rose softly and removed the flower stand from un- 
derneath her feet, while she remained hanging in the 
air, seemingly without any support; Convinsamy 
then returned to me and sat down on the floor. I re- 
mained silent, and watched the proceedings, but my 
encouraging looks proved to the fakir my evident sat- 
isfaction and the wish if possible to see the sequel. 
It is customary in nearly all Indian houses to 
have incense burners of copper, filled with glowing 
coals for the purpose of burning some grains of scented 
powder of sandalwood, orris-root or myrrh. The 
fakir brought such a burner from an adjoining room 
and placed it in the middle of the terrace. He then 
removed from his hair a large piece of rosin which he 
threw on the burning coals, at the same time mur- 
muring some incomprehensible words. This savors of 
an Indian fairy tale ; nevertheless it is strictly the 



56 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A MAGICIAN. 

truth. As soon as the clouds of steam commenced 
to ascend in the air, the suspended and sleeping 
beauty began to stir and gradually moved her arms 
and feet to the right and then to the left, ascending 
slightly in the air she slowly turned her face and then 
her body towards us. Convinsamy now replaced the 
flower-stand beneath her feet, tapping her softly on 
the shoulder, after which the young girl slowly opened 
her eyes, bestowed upon us a surprised look, smiled 
roguishly and silently walked away. The features of 
the fakir expressed pride and satisfaction, but under 
the mask * of repose I detected the greatest excite- 
ment. He glanced at me sharply, I was deeply think- 
ing, and when I finally looked up he had disappeared. 
About 10 o'clock the following morning I com- 
menced paying my farewell visits and making 
preparations for my departure with my two com- 
panions. Seating myself on the veranda and 
slowly sipping my mocha, I dreamed of yesterday; 
dreamed that the little brown beauty was floating 
lightly to the right and left before me; now she 
came towards me, through the air, and taking hold 
of my hair a soft voice whispered in my ear : — 
"Master Seeman, you come to Convinsamy?" 
"I started up and looked into the eyes of the object 
of my dream. "Placing her finger on her lips, she 
drew me with her. I passively followed her out in 
the open air. After walking about half an hour we 
arrived at the ruins of the temple Adicete Veiikuntam 
Haris. Convinsamy was awaiting us, and near him 
was a burning basin. The recollections of yester- 



EXPERIENCES WITH A GREAT FAKIR. 57 

day's productions flashed through my mind ; further- 
more, the young native's presence strengthened me 
in this belief, and now with the assistance of the 
girl who had mastered the English language better 
than Coirvinsamy had done, and had been an asso- 
ciate of his since her childhood, we commenced a 
conversation, which, however, I am compelled to 
keep secret. Imagine my astonishment and horror, 
after having for some time noticed a peculiar and un- 
pleasant odor, when Covinsamy held up to my view 
his left hand, all burnt, and I learned that he had 
inflicted this punishment on himself for disobedience 
to his order. "Powers of the Devadatta (Magic) 
brethren of the Vasundara (Earth) should confide in 
each other and faithfully hold together," he said. 
These words explained to me the strange and weird 
scene. Convinsamy had offered me a sacrifice ! We 
parted after embracing cordially. I with tears in my 
eyes. Before my departure I received a package 
from Convinsamy, containing a message and a pe- 
culiar specimen of stone. The note ran as follows : 
"If I found many of the same kind I would be en- 
titled to use their power." I still have the stone in 
my possession and have found some of the same kind 
in Sweden. However, I produce with my daughter 
a floating living person, without any support what- 
ever, and to a higher degree of perfection than Con- 
vinsamy was able to do ; although I must confess that 
it took me six years of study before I attained the de- 
sired result, which is well worthy of being exhibited 
to the public. 



CHAPTER VEX 

A PKOBLEM SOLVED. 

After leaving India Baron Seeman travelled direct 
to Vienna, where he gave his performances at the 
great Exposition of 1873, remaining there through 
the months of July and August, returning to his na- 
tive Sweden in September of that year. 

All this time and for months arid years afterwards 
he was continually endeavoring to solve the mystery 
of the invisible suspension that had been exhibited 
to him by the Indian fakir. 

In Sweden he continued giving exhibitions regu- 
larly, devoting all his leisure, however, to the problem 
mentioned and during this time he expended over 
$4,000.00 in experiments to that end. At last suc- 
cess crowned his efforts and the problem was no 
longer a mystery. He had solved it at last. De- 
termined to at once turn to his advantage his achieve- 
ments in the solution of the great mystery he secured 
an engagement at Berlin and went there with the 
intention of exhibiting, but the arduous labor of giv- 
ing his entertainments, and in off hours working at 
the mystery had told on his health, temporarily, and 



A PROBLEM SOLVED. 59 

so prostrated him that he was forced to forego the 
Berlin engagement and was almost wholly confined 
to his rooms for two months after arriving at the 
German capital. During the illness, however, he 
received numerous flattering offers from the United 
States, one of which he accepted, and on the 20th of 
June, 1880, gave a private exhibition of his marvelous 
discovery and invention at the Academy of Music, 
New York, to the members of the press and a select 
party of their invited guests. The result of this ex- 
hibition was success of the most satisfactory order. 
The press of New York rang in his praise and united- 
ly declared that the suspension "without visible 
means of support" of M'lle Seeman was the most 
marvelous achievement of the necromancers art, and 
how the suspension was effected has since bothered 
the brains of hundreds of magicians that have at- 
tempted it. 

It may not be out of the way to mention at this 
junction, that European and American Magicians 
have far excelled the Magi, or fakirs of India and 
other oriental countries in producing mysteries of the 
magic art. This suspension achieved by Baron 
Seeman is about the only great thing in the magic 
line that has come from India, that has not been 
surpassed by the magicians of civilized countries. 
Besides it should be remembered that the Indian 
Magician Convinsamy did not impart the secret of 
the mid-air suspension to Professor Seeman, but 
merely gave him an exhibition of the illusion and he 
worked out the mystery alone, as shown herein, and 



60 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A MAGICIAN. 

in the performance of it far excelled the Indian 
fakir. 

After Baron Seeman's return from India he made 
the apparatus of his magic work, the most beautiful 
and gorgeous that money could buy. All of the 
metal paraphernalia was of solid silver and his 
magicians dress and ornaments possessed a money 
value of over $10,000.00. The magic wand that he 
used was a present from an East Indian nabob and 
in one end of it was set a jewel of great value. 

In his tours of America Baron Seemen's enter- 
tainments were of a length and variety sufficient to 
satisfy the most exacting, his programmes generally 
being after this manner : 

PABT I. 

MAGIC. 

Invisible Changes. The Bifled Cannon. 

Nole Me Tangere. Seeman's Secret. 

One of Seeman's Assistants. Grand Transformation. 



INTERMISSION FIVE MINUTES. 



PAET II. 

ORIGINAL DISSOLVING VIEWS. 

Illustrating Different Parts of the World with Mag- 
nificent Effect. 



INTERMISSION, FIVE MINUTES. 



A PROBLEM SOLVED. 61 

PAKT III. 

KALOSPINTHECROMOCRENE, OR, THE ENCHANTED 
FOUNTAIN. 



INTERMISSION, FIVE MINUTES. 



PAET IV. 

eleotra; or, DREAMING and WAKING. 

Suspension in Mid-air, in a novel and mysterious 
manner, by Mile. Seeman, without any visible 
means of support whatever, floating, in the air up 
and down, right and left, and return. Daring the 
suspension the following tableau poses are as- 
sumed : 1. Prayer. 2. Joan of Arc, Maid of 
Orleans. 3. Eob Roy. 4. Germany. 5. Vic- 
tory. 6. America. 7. Mercury. 8. Angel. 
Excelling anything of the kind ever before at- 
tempted in the world. 



PART V. 

MISCELLANEOUS MAGIC. 



The dissolving views given by Baron Seeman were 
his own invention and all of the beautiful pictures 
used were drawn and painted by himself. Indeed, 
all of his apparatus was either his own handiwork, 
or was constructed under his own personal direction 
and supervision. 

Among the dissolving views one of the most beau- 
tiful and effective was "The Eock of Ages," according 



62 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A MAGICIAN. 

to his own version of the well known hymn, which 
version was as follows : 

EOCK OF AGES. 



Eock of Ages, cleft for me, 
Let me hide myself in Thee ! 
Barrier 'gainst the storms of sin, 
Open wide and let me in. 
Towering 'midst the stormy sea, 
Be Thy Cross a Eock for me ! 

Waste of waters ! Angry sky ! 
Help me, Lord — I sink ! I die ! 
At my feet the billows roll — 
Come Thou harbor for the soul ; 
Eound me Thy safe shelter fling, 
Simply to Thy Cross, I cling. 

Cross of Triumphs ! Crown of Grace, 
Win for me in Heaven a place. 
Clouds of sorrow, roll away, 
Fly before the coming day ! 
Gates of Heaven open wide, 
When I rise to Jesus' side ! 



Besides these Professor Seeman always gave an 
exceedingly humorous lecture with his crayon sketch- 
es, and these sketches were perfectly delightful in 
their humor, causing his audiences, everywhere, to roar 
with laughter upon every production of them. 

On the opposite page is seen a photographic repro- 



A PROBLEM SOLVED. 63 

duction of the poster used by Mr. Adolph Seenian, 
son of Baron Seeman. 

His invention the aerial suspension was protected 
by patent-right in this country, and was the first pat- 
ent of the kind ever taken out. Since, however, 
numerous magicians have attempted, with some suc- 
cess, but not equal to that of Seeman, the aerial sus- 
pension, and their contrivances have also been pat- 
ented, the same principles, however, are necessarily 
involved in these as in the Seeman plan. Two of 
these patents were by Mr. Will B. Wood and their 
numbers in the patent office are 415,084 and 415,085, 
and as all drawings of patents are common property 
of the people at large, any person who feels a suffi- 
cient interest in the mechanism to seek to know of it,- 
can, by sending 25 cents to the Commissioner of Pat- 
ents, with the numbers quoted here, obtain the draw- 
ings from which the secret may be obtained. 

During his last tour of the South- Western part of 
this country which was in the early months of 1886, 
Baron Seeman with his family found it necessary to 
remain, over night, in a railway car^at Bremont, 
Texas. During the night Baron Seeman contracted 
a severe cold that superinduced inflammation of the 
lungs from which he died, the following clay, March 
25th, at Kosse in the state mentioned. 

The death of this great magician was an irrepar- 
able loss to the magic art, for he w r as a man of such 
remarkable resource and of such indefatigable energy 
in research; so much accomplished in other and 
necessarily accessory arts, and so ambitious to pre- 



64 ABOUND THE WOKLD WITH A MAGICIAN. 

sent new and more startling wonders that the masses 
who take so much interest in the magic art were great 
losers in the premature taking off of this wonderful 
man. Besides, as has been said before herein, he 
was a kind and courtly gentleman who had won 
thosands of friends throughout the world, all of whom 
deeply mourned him when he went beyond. 

In the pages immediately following will be found 
some interesting incidents connected with the life of 
Baron Seem an. 



CHAPTER IX. 

MARTIN LUTHER'S WEDDING RING. 

Among the effects left by Baron Seeman is a well 
worn gold ring, its carving nearly effaced by time, 
that was the wedding ring of Martin Luther, the 
renowned reformer. The trinket is over 300 years 
old, and is now in the possession of the widow of 
Baron Seeman, who resides in New York. 

The ring came into the Seeman family in a pecu- 
liar manner. A wealthy jeweler and diamond mer- 
chant of Stockholm, Sweden, attended the sale of the 
effects of a Polish lady of rank, who had died without 
heirs, and her property went to the state. Among 
the jewels which he bought was this ring. He showed 
it to Baron Seeman, who was high in the masonic 
circles, and who thought it had masonic significance, 
from the peculiar carvings. He bought it for old 
gold. This was in 1867. In 1876 the baron was in 
the mountains of Bussia with his wife and son. 
While there the mother borrowed a six-year-old copy 
of the Gartenlaube and saw in it a description of the 
ring which they had bought in Stockholm, and read 
the speculations as to its whereabouts. The article 



66 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A MAGICIAN. 

explained how the Kurf uerst of Brandenburg had had 
two wedding rings made symbolical of the life and 
crucifixion of Christ, and had presented one to Martin 
Luther and one to his wife on their wedding day. 

-While the widow of Luther was on a journey some 
time after her husband's death her team was crossing 
a swollen stream, when her equipage was upset and 
she barely escaped with her life. The little iron 
chest, with her jewels was lost, and there was 
never any record of its recovery, although it must 
have been found when the stream ran dry in summer. 
The wedding ring of Luther was in this iron chest. 
At any rate, in 1877, when the Seemans were in Eis- 
leben, they found that the other wedding ring was in 
the possession of a local countess. This ring was 
the counterpart of theirs, and the Lutheran authori- 
ties offered 4,000 marks, or about $1,000, for its pos- 
session. Baron Seeman always wore the ring until 
he died in Texas a few years ago, first telling his 
wife never to part with it. The ring must be some- 
thing over 300 years old. Its carving is worn down 
smooth, but enough remains to show the design. In 
the centre is a ruby to represent the blood of Christ. 
On one side of this, as a centre, is the crucifixion of 
Christ, with a Koman spear to form the edge of the 
ring on one side, while a spear with three sponges, 
upon which the vinegar was given the dying Savior, 
forms the opposite edge. Between this and the 
"tree" is the head of a Eoman soldier, worn, but still 
plain enough to distinguish the helmet. Between the 
other spear and the cross is the scourge. Below the 



martin luther's wedding ring. 67 

cross are the three dice which were cast for the rai- 
ment of the dying Savior, while the three nails finish 
the design. On the opposite side of the ruby is a pil- 
lar of the temple, the veil of which was rent in twain, 
a flaming sword, the ladder which was leaned against 
the cross, the rope and hammers, and the legend, 
"I. N. E. I." over the crown of thorns at the head 
of the column. 

SEEMAN UNMASKS A CLAIRVOYANT: 

During his career as a conjurer Baron Seeman 
was much annoyed by alleged spiritualists who in- 
sisted that much of his work was done by super- 
natural aid. But he would not give countenance to 
any cf it. 

The following incident relates a phase of this and 
is a translation from Seeman's own account of it in 
German and is therefore given in his own translated 
words :— 

"I don't believe in spirits, my dear friend, it is 
unnecessary for you to waste your time on me. I 
have been traveling for 26 years or more, through al- 
most the entire known world, for, as my aunts and 
great-aunts used to remark about me in my youth, 
'the two upper eye teeth are far apart and he will see 
a good deal of the world.' My disputant was a 
jovial, old gentleman, at heart and soul a staunch 
spiritualist. We had disputed on the subject of 
spiritualism with considerable interest, he defending 
it, I against it, because mentioned, I had during my 
life seen and experienced more than perhaps ten 



68 ABOUND THE WORLD WITH A MAGICIAN. 

other persons put together. My disputant not 
daunted, then and there invited me to visit and con- 
sult a medium in the company of several ladies and 
gentlemen ; although it was late, being 9 o'clock in 
the. evening we went. 1 was introduced, but the 
spirits seemed to have considerable respect for me. 
Or was it contempt? Whichever it was I never 
ascertained, but they did not appear. I was there- 
fore invited to come and attend some other evening. 
With sorrowing hearts we all departed, each one by 
himself, but no; my disputant joined me and my 
wife and proposed that we should go to see a clair- 
voyant, whom he knew. We started off and after 
traversing a few blocks and climbing up some very 
steep stairs in a not very spirituelle looking house, 
we arrived at the lady's parlor. A rather stout 
figure who apparently had renounced the pleasures 
of this world was introduced to us. I must admit 
that I did not consider this lady capable of being a 
pupil of Cagliostro, but our mentor asked her to be 
clairvoyant. I have nothing in common with Vidocq. 
However, I seated myself, keeping my face in the 
shade. The lady noticed my intention and it seemed 
to annoy her, claiming that she could not remain on the 
chair which she occupied directly in front of me and 
with the full light shining on her face. She brought 
another chair from an adjoining room and seated 
herself by my side, I offered no objection to that, 
but remained in my seat. Perfect silence followed. 
In a few minutes she trembled and shook herself, 
smiled aloud, as if she pictured to herself in her 



MARTIN LUTHER's WEDDING RING. 69 

mind's eye, my whole life, past, present and future 
and then said: "This gentleman is a great sceptic." 
"Beally ? I see through you." 
Then, remarking that she would speak with the 
tongue of an Indian spirit, she spoke as I have often 
heard Christy's Minstrels, or "Topsy" in "Uncle 
Tom's Cabin." "But, madam," I interrupted, "why 
not prefer speaking in the English language, which - 
we all understand, or Hindoo, I also understand and 
speak that?" 

The worthy lady looked somewhat confused. 
"A tall gentleman with silver hair and beard, 
black coat and a cane with silver top stands by 
you." 

"Stop, madam, that is the same figure you de- 
scribed yesterday to my advance agent, he was taken 
in enough to admit, that he recognized his father." 

I must say here, that my advance agent had really 
been there. He is a typical Frenchman and for 
$1.00 he hastens to all kinds of nonsense. 

"You are a great medium." "No indeed, madam, 
I beg to differ with you and to say that I am not. 
Furthermore, a few moments ago you remarked that 
I was a great sceptic." No answer. To my wife, "I 
see by your side a little child, who has passed into 
spirit land, with blue eyes and light hair. "My 
daughter?" my wife inquired. "Yes." "But my 
daughter had dark brown hair like her father." 
"Quite right, dark brown hair." Then to me. "You 
are a great medium, sir, most of what you show in 
your art is performed by spirits without your knowl- 



70 AROUND THE- WORLD WITH A MAGICIAN. 

edge, and — " "Enough, madam"; I took the liberty to 
interrupt, the clairvoyant, I have had enough. I pre- 
sume I ought to believe you and endeavor to make 
the public believe that I am a real magician and that 
all I produce is real witchcraft, but I shall take good 
care not to do so. What you have said proves that 
you know less than some of your colleagues. Allow 
me to wish you good-bye." 

A WHOLESALE TREAT. 

Baron Seeman was a carefully temperate man, 
though, like nearly all Europeans, he drank wine 
when it seemed fit that he should, or something 
stronger when he felt that he needed it, and he had 
no patience with the kind of prohibition that does 
not prohibit ; the prohibition that has obtained in a 
few of the states of this republic ; a prohibition that 
sets man to scheming for the obtainment of drink 
that otherwise they would not frequently think of. 

Tell a man that he shall not have a certain thing 
and that is the very thing he is going to get, whether 
he wants it or not. In the matter of drink, attempted 
prohibition frequently makes men sneaks and liars. 
They will sneak around backways to get into places 
where drink is sold "on the sly," and they will lie to 
druggists and physicians to get the stuff. Moreover, 
in many places where hospitality or personal inclina- 
tion seems to demand that there should be liquor at 
hand, it is kept in private houses in sufficient quanti- 
ties for the use of the master of the house and his 
guests. 

Concerning his experience in a prohibition city 



MARTIN LUTHER'S WEDDING RING. 71 

Baron Seeman relates the following amusing incident : 
"On my way from California I visited, among other 
cities, a place called Leavenworth. It was a cold and 
damp evening when I arrived there and I was glad to 
step into the hospitable hotel. At last I had regis- 
tered in the hotel book, had been relieved of my 
hand-luggage and overcoat, then turning to the clerk I 
asked "Where can I get some whisky?" "I have no 
whisky," was the laconic reply. "Then a brandy or 
a glass of beer at least." "Don't you know, Mr. See- 
man that in this state we are not allowed to keep or 
sell any such drinks ?" I shuddered and in my own 
mind I swore revenge. I had arrived on a Thursday 
evening, and was not billed to give my first perform- 
ance until the following Monday. I telegraphed to a 
friend in Kansas City, but will defer betraying the 
contents of my message until later on. Monday even- 
ing arrived, the time for my first performance. The 
house was crowded, the audience applauded to their 
heart's content, but I had not yet played my trump. 
At last, Illusion No. 5 ; In a silver cup, 14 inches 
high and 6 inches in diameter I put some cotton wool,, 
lighting it and covering it up I asked the spectators 
what drink they most desired? Laughter, stamping, 
screaming, talking, all was a confusion out of which 
I could only distinguish the word "whisky." I re- 
moved the cover from the cup and poured the contents, 
which had in the meantime been transformed into 
whisky, in sixty glasses, which I offered to the pub- 
lic. They were emptied quickly. 'More whisky;' 
they all cried. That night I poured out two gallons 



72 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A MAGICIAN. 

of whisky and gave it to the public. The next day 
I received an admonition from the police, but they 
could do nothing to me, as I had only practiced my 
art and given the public the proof of my spiritual 
talent." 




D'Alvini in Japanese Costume. 



CHAPTER X. 



WILLIAM D'ALVINI, "JAP OF JAPS,'— EARLY LIFE. 



In some ways 
there is more known 
of D'Alvini, the 
wonderful juggler, 
magician and pres- 
tidigitateur than 
almost any other 
distinguished per- 
son of his profes- 
sion, and in other 
ways he is less 
known. 

If he kept a 
diary it has been lost, and as not even a short biog- 
raphy of him has ever been written the matter of 
•compiling this one has caused an infinite amount of 
painstaking research, through a great pile of contracts 
made with him by amusement managers and of news- 
paper excerpts from the press of the world. 

He made his great success and fame under the 
name of D'Alvini, but in private life he was known 




D'Alvini, "Jap of Japs. 



74 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A JUGGLER. 

in this country by the name of William Armstrong; 
his real name was William Peppercorn. He was a 
cousin to the famous clown Governelli. It has been 
published that D'Alvini's father was a mem'ber of a 
prosperous firm of silk dyers in Wood street, Cheap- 
side, but the truth is, his parents were makers of arti- 
ficial flowers, and the great juggler was born in Lon- 
don, near the Canal Koad, Hoxton, in 1847, October 
4th. He had a strongly marked Japanese face, and 
was a cockney of the cockneys, though in the most 
successful part of his life he was called "The Jap of 
Japs." 

D'Alvini's first appearance as a performer before 
audiences was at the Grecian Theatre, City Koad, 
London, and in this he road a bicycle on a rope, from 
four to eight feet above ground. This was when he 
was a mere child. He had such a proclivity for show 
life that his father apprenticed him to Powell & 
Clark's circus, and with that, and afterwards San- 
ger's circus, he remained until he was 18 years old 
as rider and gymnast, traveling over a large part of 
the world. 

While with Sanger's circus in Japan he conceived 
the idea of taking a Japanese troupe to England, 
something that had not yet been done. With this 
troupe D'Alvini took up juggling and legerdemain, in 
which latter art he was greatly assisted by his former 
schoolmate, Mr. Frank Hiam, of London, who is well 
known as a manufacturer of conjuring apparatus. 
From Mr. Hiam, D'Alvini secured his first outfit of 
conjuring apparatus and tricks, especially all those 



WILLIAM D'ALVINI, "JAP OF JAPS." 75 

pertaining to his magical portfolio, afterwards intro- 
duced by the young magician under the title of D'Al- 
vini's Album. 

A company of fourteen Japs, men, women and 
children was organized, and D'Alvini made a tour of 
Europe, it being the first troupe to receive the 
Mikado's consent to leave the empire. He kept the 
company on the road for five years and then sent it 
back, forming a new company of European Japs, 
known as "the Japs of all Japs." 

Pending the time between the dismissal of his 
original Japanese troupe and that one afterward 
formed in Europe, D'Alvini made a tour alone 
through continental Europe, and during this time he 
was in many of the cities of Eussia, Germany, 
Sweden, Norway, Holland, Austria, France, Spain, 
Portugal, and was also in Egypt. 

In the possession of this writer is a large collec- 
tion of the contracts made with European managers, 
by D'Alvini, and they are in all the languages spoken 
on the continent, which made no difference to the 
conjurer in the matter of understanding them, for he 
spoke French, Spanish, Portuguese.! German, Eng-. 
lish and Kussian with equal fluency, and was suffi- 
ciently familiar with Japanese to understand and 
make himself understood in that tongue. 

CONTINENTAL CONTRACTS. 

The contract that took D'Alvini to Egypt was 
made with Drahmet Bey, through Parravicini & Cor- 
byn of London. The junior member of this firm 
being the same Sheridan Corbyn who first brought, 



76 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A JUGGLER. 

the Vokes family to this country, and who was after- 
ward manager in the United States of several dra- 
matic companies, notably that of Mr. Frank Mayo 
during the time when that eminent actor was playing 
Shakespearian and other classic roles. The contract 
with Drahmet Bey, referred to, is unique and is there- 
fore given herewith verbatim et literatim. 

MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT. 

From the Office of Messrs. Parravicini & Corbyn, 
Operatic, Dramatic, and General Agents, 49 
Duke Street, St. James's, London, S. W. 

December 23, 1572. 
To Messrs. D'Alvini <f Clarke, Equilibrists, Jugglers, 
Etc. 

We are authorized by and on behalf of Drahmet 
Bey, of Egypt, to engage you to go to Egypt to per- 
form, leaving London on Wednesday, December 25th> 
and Southampton Thursday, December 26th and we 
do hereby, as Agents only, engage you accordingly, 
to perform to the best of your Ability all the best 
Acts of your List or Eepertoire, at a salary of Twen- 
ty Pounds Week and your passage to Egypt and back 
to London, to commence two days after your arrival 
and continue during seven consecutive weeks from 
that time, subject to the Rules of that Establish- 
ment. 

This Engagement is made through our Agency, 
and accepted by you, with a promise to pay to us a 
Commission as arranged between you and us, pay- 
able to us on the signing of this Agreement and re- 
ceipt whereof we acknowledge and subject to the 



WILLIAM D'ALVINI, ".TAP OF JAPS." 77 

Pules and Conditions of our Agency as stated below, 
viz : 

It is understood and agreed that on all extensions 
or renewals of this Engagement, we shall always re- 
ceive our Commission as above stated and that all 
New Engagements offered to you by the above 
Drahmet Bey shall be intrusted to us to reply to and 
to negotiate ; and all such New Engagements shall be 
considered as made by us, and shall be subject to the 
same Commission, payable to us as above stated. 

We make all necessary inquiries in the interest of 
artistes and ourselves as to the respectability and 
responsibility of parties engaging, but do not, as 
Agents or otherwise, under any circumstances, as- 
sume or admit any responsibility as to payment of 
salary or fulfillment of terms stipulated. 

It is agreed that both Terms and Commission 
shall be considered confidential. 

(Signer!) Pro Drahmet Bey, 

C.L. Sevinoski. 
Parravicini & Corbyn, Agents. 

Another interesting contract is that between 
D'Alvini and B. de Monfort of Paris, agent for 
Phillip Ducazcal proprietor of several theatres in 
Spain. The contract is written in both English and 
Spanish in parallel columns and is also given here- 
with as an interesting relic. 

This was in 1877. But D'Alvini was in Spain 
again in 1883 and a letter from W. Parish, Director 



78 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A JUGGLER. 

of the Circo de Price, involving the 1883 contract, is 

also printed herewith following the first : 

B. de Monfort, Kepresentant des Theatres Espagnols 

Novedades et Buen Betiro de Madrid, 30 Bue 

Feydeau, Paris. 

Entre el Sr D'Alvini y el Sr B. cle Monfort agente 
autorizado del Sr D. Felipe Ducazcal director de 
varios teatros en Espana, se ha convenido loge- 
signe. 

El Sr. Ducazcal contrata al Sr D'Alvini para dos 
meses para ejecutar sus ejereicios japoneses y de 
equilibrio, en los teatros de su direceion, con la 
familia de los D'Alvinis (dos personas mas.) 

El Sr D'Alvini se obliga a empezar sus represen- 
taciones en los teatros del Sr Ducazcal, el dia 22 del 
present nis y a sequirlos todos los dias a las horas 
qe-el Sr Ducazcal determine, segun la composicion 
de sus espectaculos. 

Esta contrata empezara el dia 22 del presente 
mes cle Diciembre y acabara el dia 21 del pionimo 
Febrero. El Sr Ducazcal tendia el derecto de pro- 
longar esta misma contrata, manifestandolo al Sr 
D'Alvini ocho dias antes de su terminacion. 

El Sr Ducazcal pagara al Sr D'Alvini la cantidad 
de Dos mil nueve cientos y cincuenta francos mensu- 
ales por quincenas anticipadas, y pagara tanbien los 
gastos cle viage de Paris a Madrid en Coches de 
segunda clase, y tanbien el escero de peso de equip- 
ages. 

El Sr D'Alvini no podra contratarse in represen- 
tar en ningun otro teatro qe-en los del Sr Ducazcal 



WILLIAM D'ALVINI, "jAP OF JAPS." 79 

mientras el Sr Ducazcal quiera continuar la presente 
contrata. — 

Hecho en Paris a 13 de Diciembre de 1877. 

(Signed) B. de Monfort, 

D'Alvini. 

"Agreement between Mr. D'Alvini, and Mr. B. de 
Monfort authorized agent of Mr. Phillip Ducazcal, 
proprietor of several theatres in Spain : 

Mr. Ducazcal engages Mr. D'Alvini for two months 
to perform his equilibrist and congring excercises in 
the theatres of his direction with the D'Alvini's troupe 
(two persons more) : 

Mr. D'Alvini obliges himself to commence his per- 
formances in Mr. Ducazcal's theatres on the 22ud of 
the present month, and to follow them in the hours 
and time that Mr. Ducazcal shall determine accord- 
ing to his program. 

This engagement will begin on the 22nd of the 
present month of December and shall end on the 
21st of next February. Mr. Ducazcal will have the 
privilege to prolong it by letting Mr. D'Alvini know 
eight days before its ending, if Mr. D'Alvini agrees 
to it. 

Mr. Ducazcal will pay to Mr. D'Alvini the sum of 
Two thousand, nine hundred aud fifty francs per 
month by anticipated fourtnights, and he will pay 
also the expenses of the voyage from Paris to Madrid 
in second class cars for three persons and the ex- 
penses of luggage. 

Mr. D'Alvini will not be allowed to perform in any 



80 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A JUGGLER. 

other theatre than Mr. Ducazcal's as long Mr. 
Dncazcal will continue the present engagement. 

Made in Paris on the 13th of December, 1877. 

(Signed) t B. de Monfort. 

D'Alvini. 

contract with price 's circus. 
Circo de Price — W. Parish, Director Administra- 
tion. 

Contract. 

Madrid, Feb 10, 1883. 
Monsie ur D ^A Ivini : 

Dear Sir: — Your conditions accepted namely 
2,500 francs payable in Spanish money every 15 
days and 200 francs allowed you for all voyage ex- 
penses the engagement to Commence on the 14th of 
April, 1883, for a term of one month. 

Mr. D'Alvini agrees to perform to the best of his 
abilities (var) letters received. Mr. D'Alvini can not 
appear in any other establishment in Madrid until 
this contract is completed. Mr. D'Alvini conforms 
to the rules of the establishment and to be in Madrid 
two days before the open clay. Mr. W. Parish hold 
the right to prolong this contract for another month 
on the same conditions. 
(Signed) W. Parish. 

Please to return contract by return or drop a tele- 
gram to say conform. W. P. 



From programmes of numerous places of amuse- 
ment in London, in possession of this writer, notably 



WILLIAM D'ALVINI, 'MAP OF JAPS." 81 

the Eoyal Aquarium, Alexandra Palace, Crystal 
Palace, Jetty Skating Eink and from the printed in- 
vitations to entertainments given for public institu- 
tions and private parties, it is evident that in the 
early months of 1877, previous to going to Spain 
D'Alvini was exceedingly busy with engagements for 
such places. Some of these took him before very 
exalted personages but he became accustomed to that, 
for during his somewhat checkered and eventful 
career D'Alvini performed before Queen Victoria twice, 
and also before the Princess of Wales and Edinburg, at 
various times, as well as the Sultan of Turkey. He 
was engaged expressly by the viceroy of Egypt to dis- 
play his skill, alone, in the vice regal harem. Be- 
sides several ugly eunuchs, who stood guard, he was 
the only one in sight, the ladies of the harem view- 
ing him through the lattice work of the boxes ranged 
above the stage. He appeared before the shah of 
Persia in Crystal Palace, London ; before Marshall 
McMahon at his residence on the Eue de Ehone, 
Paris, and before the Emperer William at the Palace 
in Berlin. He performed before the late Czar Alex- 
ander of Eussia, on February 19 of the year in which 
he was killed. Concerning this incident D'Alvini 
afterward said to a friend in Chicago: — 

"When I was in Eussia I had an experience that 
drove me from the land of the Czars and I promise 
you I shall not go back to it. It was in 1880 that I 
struck Eussia and the Czar, Alexander, (who was af- 
terwards assassinated by the Nihilists,) summoned me 
to give a private entertainment for him in the south 



82 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A JUGGLER. 

wing of his winter palace. I am glad he did not 
-choose the west wing, for on that very night February 
19th, 1880, while in the midst of my jDerformance, 
the west wing was blown up by the revolutionists but 
nobody was hurt. It kept me in the palace under po- 
lice surveillance for four days, nevertheless, and I 
soon got out of that country and I won't go back again 
unless I am chained." 

D'Alvini also entertained Don Pedro of Brazil 
twice at the emperor's home, and also the late Alfonso 
of Spain in the royal palace at Madrid. "In fact," 
said D'Alvini, "I've been before nearly all the bloom- 
in' crowned heads of Europe. And don't forget the 
Mikado of Japan. He is one of the finest fellows you 
ever saw, kind and agreeable, and treated me well. 
He was the making of me. " 

Another of the interesting contracts made by D'Al- 
vini was that entered into between himself and the in- 
ternational theatrical agency of E. Perrier, 20 Boule- 
vard St. Denis, Paris, for the appearance of the ma- 
gician at the Casino, Marseilles. This contract is also 
written in French and English in parallel columns 
and as the English is peculiar, to say the least, it is 
given herewith, also that with the same agency for 
D'Alvini's appearance at the Orpheum in Vienna, 
Austria. 



WILLIAM d'aLVINI, "JAP OF JAPS." 83 

AGEXCE THE ATE ALE INTERNATIONALE. 

20 Boulevard St. Denis, a Paris. (au Eez de 
Chaussee.) 

E. PERBIER. 

Agent Special A Londres 
Correspondence a Bruxelles, Berlin, Vienne, New- 
York. 

Paris le London, the 18th, Fevrler 1878. 
Entre les soussignes, Madame Fabre, directrice du 
Casino a Marseille et Mr. D'Alvini, artiste an- 
glais. 
II a ete arrete ce qui suit : 

1. Madame Fabre engage Mr. D'Alvini a parter 
du 15 ou 20 Mars 1878 pour un mois, se reservant le 
droit de resilier l'engagement apres quinze jours. 
Madame Fabre engage Mr. D'Alvini aux conditions 
de deux mille cinq cents francs par mois. 

2. Mr. D'Alvini recevra ses appointments au pro- 
rata tous les samedis. 

3. Madame Fabre paiera a Mr. D'Alvini une 
inclemnite de cent francs en plus de ses appointe- 
ments, et Madame Fabre fera une avance de six cents 
francs a Mr. D'Alvini a valoir sur ses appointements. 

4. Mr. D'Alvini's engage a suivre les usages et 
reglements de la direction du Casino de Marseille. 

5. Mr. D'Alvini devra etre rendu au Casino de 
Marseille la veille de ses debuts, pour donner une 
repetition generale en costumes avec l'orcbestre. 

6. Le dit engagement a ete contracte par l'inter- 



84 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A JUGGLER. 

mediaire de Mr. E. Perrier, agent theatral a Paris et 
a Londres. Debut du quinze ou vingt Mars 1878. 

Marseille le 21. Fevrier 1878. 

(Signed.) L. Y. Ela Fabre. 

, Between the undersigned Madame Fabre, direc- 
trice of the Casino of Marseille, and Mr. D'Alvini 
artiste Anglais, it has been agreed what it is fol- 
lowing : 

1. Madame Fabre engage Mr. D'Alvini begin the 
15th of March, 1878, for one month, with the option, 
to Madame Fabre to cancel the engagement alter fif- 
teen days ; Madame Fabre engage Mr. D'Alvini with 
the condition of two thousand and five hundred francs- 
per month. 

2. Mr. D'Alvini will receive his salary in propor- 
tion every Saturday. 

3. Madame Fabre will pay to Mr. D'Alvini, an 
indemnity of hundred francs besides his salary and 1 
Madame Fabre will make an advance of six hundred 
francs to Mr. D'Alvini on account of his salary. 

4. Mr. D'Alvini engage himself to follow the rules 
and customs of the direction of the Casino of Mar- 
seille. 

5. Mr. D'Alvini will be arrived to the Casino of 
Marseille, the day before his first night, to give a gen- 
eral rehearsal in costumes, with the orchestra. 

6. The said engagement has been contracted by 
the medium of Mr. E. Perrier, agent theatral in Paris 
and in London. 



WILLIAM D'ALVINI, "JAP OF JAPS." 85 

The Directrice says your engagement will begin 
from the 15th to the 20th of March. 

(Signed.) L. V. Ela Fabre. 

AGENCE THEATKALE INTEENATIONALE. 

20 BOULEVARD ST. DENIS, A PARIS, (AU REZ DE CHAUSSEE.) 

E. PEKEIEE. 



Agent Special A Londres. 
Correspondants a Bruxelles, Berlin, Vienna, New 
York. 
Paris, le London, the, 

Engagement. 
Entre les soussignes : Monsieur Edward Danzer 
Directeur de l'Orpheum a Vienne (Autriche) et Mon- 
sieur D'Alvini, presentement a Paris, il a ete convenu 
et arrete ce qui suit : 

1. Monsieur E. Danzer engage Monsieur D'Al- 
vini pour executer sur la scene de l'orpheum exclu- 
fiivment tous ses exercises a parter dutrois September 
1878 pour un mois certain. 

2. Les appointements de Monsieur D'Alvini sont 
fixes a la somme de deux mille francs par mois pay- 
ables par quinzaine et deux chambres dans l'hotel de 
Monsieur E. Danzer. 

3. Monsieur E. Danzer alloue a Monsieur D'Al- 
vini une somme de cinq cents francs d'avance et deux 
cents francs pour frais de voyage, bagages et ma- 
teriel. 

4. Monsieur D'Alvini devra etre rendu a Vienne 
le 2d. septembre. 



86 ABOUND THE WOULD WITH A JUGGLER. 

5. Monsieur D'Alvini devra se conformer au re- 
glement de la Direction. 

6. Monsieur E. Danzer n'est pas responsable des 
accidents pouvant survenir pendant le cours des rep- 
resentations. 

v 7. Monsieur E. Danzer se reserve le droit de pro- 
longer le dit engagement aux menies clauses et con- 
ditions, pendant un mois en prevenant Monsieur D'Al- 
vini quinze jours a l'avance. 

Le dit engagement a ete contracte par Monsieur 
Perrier agent de Monsieur D'Alvini pour la France et 
le continent a moitie avec Monsieur Ferdinand Buech- 
ler agent a Vienne, en payment le dix pour cent qui 
sera retenu par la Direction, moitie pour le compte de 
Monsieur E. Perrier, agent. 20 Boulevard St. Denis 
a Paris. 

Fait et signe double a Paris le 9 juillet, 1878. 

(Signed) Edward Danzer. 

D'Alvini. 

v CONTBACT. 

Between the undersigned : Master Edward Dan- 
zer Director of the Orpheum in Wien (Autriche) et 
Master D'Alvini presentely in Paris, it has been agreed 
what it is following : 

1 . Master E. Danzer engage Master D'Alvini to 
perform on the stage of the Orpheum only his exer- 
cises performances to begin the tree September 1878 
for one month certain. 

2. The salary of Master D'Alvini will be two 
thousand francs per month payables every fifteen 



WILLIAM D'ALVINI, "JAP OF JAPS." 87 

days and two rooms in the hotel of the Master 
Danzer. 

3. Master E. Danzer will be allowed the sum of 
500 francs at Master D'Alvini on advance, and 200 
francs for the fores expenses. 

4. Master D'Alvini will be obliged to be arrived 
the 2d. September in Wien. 

5. Master D'Alvini will have to follow the rule of 
the Direction. 

6. Master E. Danzer will not be responsible of 
any accident which could occur daring the represent- 
ations. 

7. Master E. Danzer will have the ringht to pro- 
long the said engagement with the same clauses and 
conditions for one month in giving notice to Master 
D'Alvini fifteen days in advance. 

The said engagement has been contracted by Mr. 
Perrier agent of Master D'Alvini for the France and 
continent : this contract as made on company wit 
Mr. Ferdinand Buechler agent in Wien. 

Mr. D'Alvini he will pay the ten per cent of the 
commission and autorise the Director to retain half 
for Mr. E. Perrier. 

Signed doubled in Paris the 9 July, 1878. 
(Signed) Edward Danzer. 

D'Alvini. 
I engage to day Mr. D'Alvini to the 21st of October,. 
1878, inclosed. 

(Signed) Edward Danzer. 

D'Alvini. 



88 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A JUGGLER. 

Another contract that is peculiar for its brevity is 
one written in German for his appearance at a 
theatre in Leuwarden, Holland. Following is the 
original and the translation : — 
Carl Pflaeging, Rotterdam. 

Herr D'Alvini ist bei der Gesellschaft Pflaeging 
engagirt von 17-27 August gegen ein Honorarvon fl. 
.50 pro Abend und 1 Matinee. 
Leeuwarden, 24 Juli 1881. 

(Signed) Carl Pflaeging. 

TRANSLATION. 

Mr. D'Alvini is engaged with the Pflaeging Com- 
pany from 17 to 27 August at a salary of 50 florins, 
($20.00) for each evening and one matinee. 

Leuwarden, July 24th, 1881. 
(Signed) Carl Pflaeging. 



CHAPTER XI. 

THE FIRST JAPANESE TROUPE. INDIAN JUGGLERS 
AND THEIR FEATS. 

Concerning D'Alvini's first Japanese troupe the 
story is best told in an interview with him printed in 
the Chicago Daily News of July 7th, 1886, and in 
this interview D'Alvini gave many interesting facts 
aside from those immediately connected with his 
troupe. The interview was as follows : "Yes, I 
brought over the first company of Japanese jugglers 
that ever exhibited in this country or in Europe," 
said D'Alvini, the magician. "It was called the 
'Tycoon troupe.' We gave one exhibition on our ar- 
rival in San Francisco, and then went directly to 
London. We exhibited in Europe for three years. 
Then the troupe disbanded, and such of the members 
as did not return to their own land became attached, 
as special performers, to various theatres or com- 
panies. The bringing of the 'Tycoon troupe' over 
was the introduction of Japanese conjurers into the 
western world. Since that time they have learned that 
they can make far more money in Europe and 
America than at home. 

"Their most remarkable skill is in balancing feats. 



90 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A JUGGLER. 

The Jap is a balancer by nature. If a working-man 
is carrying a ladder along the street he does not bear 
it as any other man would. He balances it deftly on 
one shoulder, and speeds along as if only a feather rested 
there. If he is going to brace it against a wall for 
some one else to ascend, quick as a flash he turns it 
from his shoulder, and, resting his back on the ground, 
holds it in place with his feet instead of with the 
hands, as other people do. 

J had gone out from England with a circus com- 
pany and was stranded in their country. I was so 
impressed with the marvelous sleight-of-hand per- 
formances of the Japanese jugglers that I determined 
to learn the business. When I had acquired some 
insight into its methods the idea came to me that it 
would be a good scheme to take a native company to 
England. Here is the original contract. You see it 
not only contains the terms of agreement, but the 
permission of the government for me to take three 
jugglers with me, and also a list of the professional 
properties of the company and their personal belong- 
ings. The Japs were greatly concerned for fear they 
would be unable to procure tooth brushes or powder 
while sojourning in the lands of the western bar- 
barians. Accordingly they obtained permission to 
carry with them what they considered would be a 
sufficient supply to last them during their absence 
from home. There were between twenty and twenty- 
five men in the troupe. But they carried with them, as 
the contract shows, 25,000 packages of tooth powder 
and 5,000 tooth-brushes for their personal use. 



THE FIRST JAPANESE TROUPE. 91 

Their amazement when they saw similar articles 
for sale in American and English shops was comical. 

" The Jap is the most skilled of all oriental jug- 
glers. The wonderful tales related of the marvelous 
feats performed by the conjurers of India are mere 
fairy stories. The Indian juggler does not compare 
in skill with the professional magician of America or 
Europe. Their tricks are such clumsy affairs that 
they cannot be termed optical illusions. No trained 
western performer would think of giving them as they 
do. Crude as they are, however, they have furnished 
most of the ideas for the development of the wonder- 
ful stage illusions of the day. 

"The Indian juggler has neither skill nor enter- 
prise. He does not travel to other lands, but remains 
at home and gives his little performances in the. 
streets and squares. He knows nothing of the science 
employed in latter-day legerdemain. He does not 
understand what electricity or compressed air means.. 
For, you must know, electricity and compressed air 
are the modern magician's most important tools. 
Some of our best illusions are performed by the 
means of delicate crushable glass used to confine the 
compressed air. The stories of the marvels the Indian 
performs have their origin in the prolific oriental 
imagination." 

"In what countries do people show the most 
interest in entertainments of the class given by magi- 
cians?" 

"That is somewhat difficult to say. Where the 
entertainment is a novelty they will want to see it. 



92 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A JUGGLER. 

every night for a long time. For instance, I was the 
first European employed to go to Egypt to give leger- 
demain performances. I was hired expressly to 
entertain the harem of the ruler then in power. 
Well, I gave performances night after Dight for 
months and was still retained. The theatre was 
within the ruler's palace. The stage was at one end 
and all around the rest of the wall were compart- 
ments of different sizes. The largest were for the 
wives of the ruler, or those of royal birth, and the 
smaller ones for the Circassians and other low-born 
beauties attached to the harem. 

"But the most peculiar audiences that I have ever 
had were the Zulus. I gave entertainments both in 
Madagascar and along the coast of Africa. I was 
induced to do so by Richard William Dunn, who was 
in power in Madagascar. He is the Englishman 
who was so active in supplying the Zulus with guns 
and ammunition during the war between the tribes 
and Great Britain. The only way I managed to give 
my performances among the Zulus was by exposing 
the tricks. Then they became interested and followed 
me around all the time as if I was a superior being. 
If I had not explained my illusions they would have 
fled from me in dread and watched their opportunity 
to put me out of the way. They are abjectly super- 
stitious. 

" We would travel from village to village, or more 
properly speaking, from camp to camp, and bartered 
with the natives for so much ivory for each perform- 
ance. Without the guaranty they would have agreed 



THE FIRST JAPANESE TROUPE. 93 

to give me ivory for an exhibition, but before I could 
have got two miles from their village they'd have 
fallen on me to recover it. That's their method of 
doing business. 

"Of all bad countries, though, Russia is the worst. 
It is the bad country of the world. No one who has 
not traveled through it from town to town, and village 
to village, can form any conception of the ignorance 
and poverty of its peasantry. A stranger in their 
midst is viewed with suspicion. They dare scarcely 
answer his simplest questions or serve him at their 
inns. I was engaged to give an entertainment 
in the winter palace on the night that the emperor 
.was assassinated. Here is the original programme 
for the occasion and the contract. You see the latter 
provides for an entertainment of February 17th of 
that year, and it is also the date of the programme. 
It is needless to add that I not only gave no perform- 
ance on that night, but that I was escorted to my ho- 
tel closely guarded by a company of soldiery. I was 
not allowed to depart, and was kept under strict sur- 
veillance until the authorities were satisfied what my 
associates were." 

From an interview printed iu the Philadelphia 
News of March 13th, 1887, D'Alvini gives some fur- 
ther very interesting facts concerning his travels, and 
experiences, and from that interview the following ex- 
cerpts are made : 

Speaking again of his Japanese experiences he 
says: 

"I liked Japan fairly well, but when I was there it 



94 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A JUGGLER. 

seemed to me that I might do better if I brought a 
troupe of 'Japs' from their country to England. Up 
to that time such a thing had never been attempted 
with the Mikado's permission; but by the use of offi- 
cial influence I was able to accomplish my object. 
Well my undertaking was highly successful, but 
while in Japan I had learned the art of necromancy 
and jugglery myself. I had also been in India, and 
there I had acquired the arts of the Indian jugglers. 
And I want to say to you here that much that has 
been written about the supernatural power of the In- 
dian jugglers is all poppycock. They have not the 
aid of compressed air and electricity, and many of 
the feats which we perform by the aid of these ad- 
juncts could never be done by them. The Indian jug- 
glers apparently make a plant grow from a seed in a 
few minutes. They can not force nature, of course, 
and they accomplish this by means of advance agents, 
who conceal the full grown plant hours beforehand on 
the spot where the feat is accomplished. Another of 
their feats is an illusion. The jugglers put a boy in 
a large basket, and then impress the spectators with 
the fact that he has been removed by supernatural 
means. 

"I have seen the trick, and the solution of the mys- 
tery is found in the fact that the juggler wears a bur- 
nous, or garment with ample folds. The boy is re- 
moved from the basket and concealed within the folds 
of his dress." 

"Have I traveled much?" he answered, in reply to 
a Question. "Well, I think I have. I have made the 



THE FIRST JAPANESE TROUPE. 95 

tour of Europe, and there are few towns on the con- 
tinent in which I have not played. In England I 
have played twice before Queen Victoria, and also at 
private performances for the Princess of Wales and 
the Duke of Edinburg. In Constantinople I have ap- 
peared before the Sultan of Turkey. I gave a special 
performance for the Shah of Persia in the Crystal 
Palace, London. The Viceroy of Egypt engaged me 
for six months, and I several times displayed my skill 
for the benefit of the ladies of the royal harem. Mar- 
shal McMahon got me to play for him at his residence 
in Paris, and the Emperor William honored me by 
giving me a special engagement at his royal residence. 
I played in the Winter Palace for the Czar Alexander, 
and while I was playing for him in the north wing of 
the palace the Nihilists blew up the southern wing of 
the building." "Yes, "he added, "I think I am a pretty 
well traveled man." 

Commenting upon D'Alvini's work, the News add- 
ed : "D'Alvini's skill is due to a long and tedious 
practice. "I practice on an average," he said, "four 
or five hours a day. I have to do this or else I would 
fall off from the standard to which I aspire." Some 
of his feats are remarkable. The "Fairy Fountain" 
act is a triumph of balancing. In this act he builds 
a Japanese pagoda out of blocks of wood, the founda- 
tion resting on his chin. When the fountain has been 
completed a stream of water issues out of it, the struc- 
ture revolving all the time. The feat is a most extra- 
ordinary one and the climax is reached when in place 



96 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A JUGGLER. 

of water, streamers of ribbon and showers of paper 
issue out of the fountain. 

D'Alvini is a wonderful balancer. He seems to 
know the laws of gravitation exactly. He will take a 
cylindrical rod fifteen feet in length and balance a high 
hat on it. The hat will perform all manner of gyra- 
tions, but it will stick to the point of the rod under all 
circumstances, just as D'Alvini directs. It will be 
thrown from crown and caught on edge ; it will dance 
on all sides and yet never leave the rod. Altogether 
the feat is a wonderful one, and the science of bal- 
ancing is displayed in its most advanced develop- 
ments. 

In the art of illusion D'Alvini's triumph is ac~ 
complished in producing a boy out of almost noth- 
ing. He fairly gives the lie to the old Latin theorem 
ex nihilo nihil. The curtain rises as D'Alvini, in the 
dress of a Japanese executioner, is discovered. He 
advances to the middle of the stage with a casket in 
his hands fourteen inches square. Out of this cas- 
ket he draws ribbons of paper. This is introductory. 
Then he puts a newspaper on the floor, to do away 
with the suspicion that a trap-door is used. Stand- 
ing over and on the paper he makes a few passes and 
then he produces a full-sized boy of 16 years. The 
illusion is inexplicable and the audience is startled. 

D'Alvini is now under the management of Eeilly 
& Wood, and will make an extended tour of this 
country. " 

Speaking at another time concerning the fakirs of 
India and the Japanese, D'Alvini said: "The Japan- 



THE FIRST JAPANESE TROUPE. 9T 

ese set the example for us, and we, the Europeans,, 
have improved upon it. As jugglers, conjurers and 
masters of all the arts of legerdemain, Europeans 
surpass the world, and that is a statement that can- 
not be gainsayed. The Japanese are very intelligent, 
and take great pains with whatever work they do. 
It is very hard to copy after jugglers and requires 
endless patience and toil. I try to be original.. 
There is only one trick performed by me that is done 
by others and that is, balancing articles on a rapidly 
revolving parasol. The others are all my own. I 
never do any ball or knife throwing, because that is. 
mere child's play and can be seen almost any- 
where." 

"We hear a great deal about Indian juggling, and 
the wonderful trick of the marabouts, such as bring- 
ing birds into existence, causing them to fly a short 
distance and to return, but such stories are Indian 
fables — mere fairy tales. I traveled throughout 
India, and I never saw anything particularly wonder- 
ful, nothing in fact, but what I could do myself." 

As mentioned elsewhere, D'Alvini after having dis- 
missed his original Japanese troupe and having 
made a tour of Europe and Egypt alone, formed 
another company in England which he called "The 
Japs of all Japs," and took them on a continental 
tour with great success. Beside D'Alvini himself 
there were Mrs. D'Alvini who was known on the bills 
as Kara Miss Kara, Tom-o-Kitchi,. and other as- 
sistants. 



CHAPTEE XII. 

TO SOUTH AMERICA WITH PATRIZIO. 

While in Spain, D'Alvini entered into a contract 
with Patrizio, who was himself a famous magician, 
to visit South America and the West Indies. 

On the opposite page is a portrait of Patrizio, 
who made a tour of the United States, which was a 
remarkable success artistically throughout, though to 
him it was a financial failure. And yet his business 
was very large everywhere. Patrizio is said to have 
lost $40,000.00 in that tour, but he imparted the loss 
to his lack of knowledge of the English language 
and the ways of those who had his affairs in charge. 

Following is the contract between D'Alvini and 
Patrizio, as originally written in French, there fol- 
lows also a translation of same : 

"Entre Monsieur Ernest Patrizio d' une part et 
Monsieur William D'Alvini de l'autre et convenu a qui 
suit : 

1. Monsieur E. Patrizio engage Monsieur Wil- 
liam D'Alvini pour une tournee dans l'Amerique du 
Sud pour la duree de six mois a dater du jour de la 
premiere representation, en se reservant le droit de 




Patrizio. 



TO SOUTH AMERICA WITH PATRIZIO. 99 

prolonge pour autres six mois le dit engagement si 
■cela sera de sa convenance sans que pour .cela 
.Monsieur D'Alvini puisse pretend re une augmen- 
tation. 

2. Monsieur D'Alvini met a disposition de Mon- 
sieur Patrizio son spectacle d' exercises d'equilibriste, 
de Jonglerie, d' illusion avec le concours de Madame 
Kara et du petit Japonais, pour prendre parte clans 
toutes les representations que Monsieur Patrizio don- 
nera avec sa campagnie soit pour paraitre une ou deux 
fois, dans la meme soiree, pour une duree d'au moins 
une heure et demie. 

3. Les jours de fetes et Diinanches Monsieur 
Patrizio pourra donner deux representations sans que 
pour cela Monsieur D'Alvini puisse avoir doit a une 
augmentation. 

4. Monsieur D'Alvini promet aussi son concours 
pour l'execution des Spectres ou Ombry et de faire de 
son mieux pour la reussite de la presente entreprise. 

5. Pour tout le travail dont est question dans la 
presente convention Monsieur Patrizio payera a Mon- 
sieur D'Alvini la somme de trois mille francs (fcs 
3,000.00) payable a dixaines echeves ne se calculand 
pas comme jours payable les jours employes dans les 
traversees maritimes. 

6. Les frais de voyage en 2nd class et du materiel 
•sont a partir de Barcelona a la charge de Monsieur 
Patrizio. Chaqun payera ses frais d'hotel. 

7. Les frais particulier du spectacle de Monsieur 
seront a sa charge. 

8. Les pavements seront fait au numeraire d'or ou 



100 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A JUGGLER. 

argent, ou en papier clu pays de la Nation ou on se 
trouvera au moment clu payment aux taux de ce que 
vendra Tor ou l'argent selon le prix clu dernier bulle- 
tin de la bourse. 

9. Cette convention privee peutetre elevee a 
ecriture publique avec le concours des consuls des 
respectives Nations a la demande d'un des inter- 
esses. 

10. Monsieur D'Alvini promet de n'avoir jamais 
donner son spectacle clans le Sucl Amerique, et 1' en- 
gage a clemi relever Monsieur Patrizio cles damages 
et interets que peuvent lui etre occassione si en etait 
autrement. 

11. Pour toutes les differences qui peuvent orig- 
iner entres les parties contractantes c'est convenu des 
a present que toute question sera remise aux arbitrage 
des Consuls de la respective nations. 

Fait en bonne foi ce 19 Avril de 1883, Barcelone. 
(Signed) Ernest Patrizio. 

TRANSLATION : 

"Between Mr. Ernest Patrizio, party of the first 
part, and Mr. Wm. D'Alvini, party of the second part, 
the following has been agreed : 

1st. Mr. Ernest Patrizio engages Mr. William 
D'Alvini for a tour of six months in South America, 
to date from the day of their first performance, and 
reserving the right to prolong the said engagement 
for six months more should it suit him to do so, 
in which case Mr. D'Alvini shall have no increase of 
salary. 

2nd. Mr. D'Alvini puts at the disposal of Mr. 



TO SOUTH AMERICA WITH PATRIZIO. 101 

Patrizio his specialties in balancing, juggling and 
illusions, also the services of Madam Kara and the 
little Japanese boy, who are to assist him in all the 
performances which Mr. Patrizio may give with his 
company, whether it be one or two appearances on 
the same evening, for at least one and one-half 
hours. 

3rd. On holidays and Sundays Mr. Patrizio will 
give two exhibitions daily and Mr. D'Alvini is to as- 
sist him in the same, as above mentioned, without 
any additional salary. 

4th. Mr. D'Alvini further promises to give his 
assistance in the production of the Ghost Show and 
Shadowgraphs, and to do his best towards the success 
of the present enterprise. 

5th. For all the work above mentioned Mr. 
Patrizio will pay Mr. D'Alvini the sum of Three 
Thousand Francs (3000 francs), payable every ten 
days, the days spent on the water not counting. 

6th. The expenses of the voyage out, second 
class cabin, and all baggage expenses starting from 
Barcelona will be defrayed by Mr. Patrizio. Each 
party shall pay his own hotel bills. 

7th. Any expense incurred in the production of 
Mr. D'Alvini' s specialties shall be paid by himself. 

8th. The payments shall be made in gold, silver 
or paper of the country in which the parties may be 
at the time, allowances being made for exchange. 

9th. This private agreement may be legalized by 
the consuls of the respective nations, at the request 
of either one of the parties. 



102 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A JUGGLER. 

10th. Mr. D'Alvini affirms that he has never given* 
his specialties in South America, and if it is found 
otherwise, he agrees to pay one-half the damages, 
which may be caused thereby, to Mr. Patrizio. 

11th. All differences that may arise between the- 
contracting parties shall be submitted for arbitration 
to the consuls of the respective nations. 

Made in good faith this 19th day of April, 1883, 
at Barcelona." 

In pursuance of this contract D'Alvini sailed 
with his company from Barcelona, Spain, to Bio Ja- 
neiro. 

D'Alvini opened at Rio and performed in other cit- 
ies and towns of Brazil and then went to Buenos 
Ayres. Before leaving Rio one of the newspapers 
speaking of his performances, said these things which 
were not very flattering to other magicians among 
them D'Al vim's employer Patrizio. 

Following is the excerpt alluded to : 

"The four conjurers who are at present perform- 
ing in this city and amusing the public are Patrizio 
Martini, Herrmann and Bosco, all noted for their re- 
markable tricks in magic, but neither of them has 
anything new. They are all doing precisely the same 
thing, — pulling eggs out of a man's hat, producing 
coins from a man's nose or head, doing the changing 
handkerchiefs, working the old glove trick, making it 
large and small, the ribbons and rabbits from the hat, 
— all things that are familiar to everybody. 

The greatest and most skilled of the four is Patri- 
zio, but the one who has the most money, which he 




D'Alvini's Juggling Acts. 



TO SOU1H AMERICA WITH PATRIZIO. 10B 

has secured by making friends with the public, know- 
ing how to advertise well and manipulate the columns- 
of the press, is certainly Herrmann, but what a 
change if we look at the performances of D'Alvini, 
the "Jap of Japs" who is now attracting the atten- 
tion of the Eio De Janeiro public, who gives the most 
admirable, marvelous, extraordinary and inimitable 
performance ever seen in the realms of mystery, jug- 
gling and conjuring, to say nothing of his Ghost 
Show and Shadowgraphing. Whoever wishes to be 
amused should by all means see his performances."' 

The entire first page of this paper was taken up by 
a lithograph of which the illustration on opposite 
page is a photographic reproduction. It will be seen 
that the four conjurers mentioned above were all rep- 
resented as doing the same old familiar tricks. 

While at Montevideo D'Alvini wrote : "Five per- 
formances and all good. Lodgings at Hotel Con- 
corda. Good eating, rooms very bad — damp. Found 
an old friend, an American. Left Montevideo June 
31st, 6 in the evening. Arrived JBuenos Ayres July 
1st. Very large town. Money all paper. Theatre 
very large. Business good. Success big. Every 
paper speaking well." 



CHAPTER XIII. 

D'ALVINI'S EXPERIENCES IN THE WEST INDIES. 

After adding the South American countries men- 
tioned to his great list of triumphs throughout nearly 
all the world, D'Alvini and company sailed for the 
Northern colonies of South America, especially Brit- 
ish Guiana and Venezuela. At Colon D'Alvini opened 
a theatre which was called the "Colonia Theatre. " 
This establishment, however was burned by the insur- 
gents during a revolution and D'Alvini lost many 
thousands of dollars worth of property for which he 
was never reimbursed. Undaunted, the plucky ma- 
gician sailed for the West Indies and played a long 
and successful season in Jamaica and in towns of 
other islands of the greater Antilles, earning large 
sums of money. 

It was during his visit to Brazil that D'Alvini took 
up the practical work of a hobby that he had always 
been interested in. He put in all his spare time 
hunting and securing butterflies, birds and bugs, and 
being a skillful entomologist and taxidermist he pre- 
served his collections in such a manner that they be- 
came very valuable and some of them are yet 
extant. 



EXPERIENCES IN THE WEST INDIES. 105 

D'Alvini was also very fond of all sorts of out-door 
sports and lived as much as possible in the open air. 
He had a rugged constitution and was possessed of such 
powers of endurance that it seemed almost impossible 
for him to become fatigued, and especially was this 
apparent in tropical and semi-tropical regions, the 
-conditions of which are almost invariably enervating 
to people generally. 

While on the island of Jamaica D'Alvini engaged 
wagons and teams for the entire trip about the island, 
and thus traveled from place to place at his leisure 
making the circuit a glorious outing, in which be 
combined business with pleasure. Thus he would 
shoot and fish along the way and also continue the 
additions to his entomological and ornithological 
collections. 

Being one of the most genial, jovial, sociable and 
generous of men, D'Alvini made friends of all with 
whom he came in contact, except now and then some 
one who attempted to impose upon him, and he even 
had a way of winning their respect. An incident of 
this latter kind is illustrated by the following para- 
graph, taken from a Demerara newspaper of that 
time. The paper says : 

"Whatever may be the illusionist and juggling 
powers of the Jap of Japs, he immediately upon his 
arrival gave a lesson in the "noble art of self -de- 
fense" to one of our mule carters, that is worth not- 
ing. The carter after the fashion of his class, 
started with rudeness, and finding his man much 
smaller than himself "went for him." The Jap was 



106 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A JUGGLER. 

as cool as a refrigerator — said he knew many tricks, 
but he was always ready to learn, so he would take a 
lesson now. And he did — he learnt by sudden in- 
tuition how to spread out a blusterer twice his weight 
and bulk. The whole scene was so ludicrous that 
those present fairly exploded with merriment. Not 
the least ludicrous part of this impromptu perform- 
ance, was the figure cut by the overturned carter. 
His expressions of astonishment at this kind of jug- 
gling were comical in the extreme, and he knows by 
this that the famous "Illusionist's" muscular powers 
are no illusion — if a little delusive." 

In his generous way D'Alvini was always ready 
and willing to help along any good cause that ap- 
pealed to him, and frequently he gave entertainments 
for the benefit of worthy objects, without cost to any 
one except himself, barring of course the price paid 
by those who visited the show, for their tickets, and 
they always got their money's worth. 

Once while at Kingston, Jamaica, he gave a bene- 
fit for a "Struggling Cemetery," and the affair created 
an amusing war of words between the local news- 
papers. A clipping from the Kingston Call of 
November 23rd, 1886, will fully explain the situation. 
It is headed "A Shocking Affair" and is as follows : 

"To-morrow the Eector of Kingston, the Rev. 
G. W. Downer, proposes to ask the public to assist 
him in getting together sufficient funds to beautify 
that sacred spot in the immediate vicinity of his 
church, so beautifully spoken of by some one as 
"God's Acre." He has asked the people to help him 



EXPERIENCES IN THE WEST INDIES. 107 

in providing necessary funds to enclose and beautify 
the graves of those who have joined the "great ma- 
jority" — those who have crossed the dark river, and 
who are awaiting the arrival of their friends and rela- 
tives, who sooner or later must join them in that 
great unknown space, concerning which there are so- 
many, and so varied theories and differences of opin- 
ion. In order that the public shall have value for 
their money, and although assisting a good cause 
shall feel that they had received an equivalent for 
their outlay in the shape of" tickets, the Eev. gentle- 
man managed to secure the assistance of a number 
of ladies and gentlemen, and also enlisted the sym- 
pathies of the "Jap of Japs" who, with the big heart- 
that is always to be found in the breast of a genuine- 
artist, at once volunteered to give his valuable ser- 
vices free to assist in a cause which he thought de- 
served support. This "shocked" the fine sensibilities 
of the Gleaner, whose effusion on the subject raised 
a feeling of ridicule and disgust in every quarter — 
Jew and Gentile alike. We now produce the follow- 
ing, which w r e think exactly fits the case, and are sure 
that our readers will pick out the various "points" 
and appreciate them accordingly : — 

You have really done good, though harm was in- 
tended, 

When you wrote in your paper of 19th inst. ; 

However, you know, "least said, soonest mended" 

And, while reading your strictures, we not even 
winced. 



108 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A JUGGLER. 

Oh ! come to the Gala, and see that best chap of 

chaps 
Delighting the people with tricks, old and new, 
Oh ! come and applaud him, whom men call the 

Jap of -Japs, 
Who at Juggling and conjuring is equalled by few. 

Oh! come and encourage our excellent clergyman, 

The Rector of Kingston, so honest and true ; 

For we know that if you, with your influence, urge 

him on, 
There's no limit to all the great good he will do." 

From the West Indies D'Alvini went to New Or- 
leans, playing one month at the Avenue theatre ; 
after which he went to Chicago and signed for two 
years with Fred Hodson, manager of Kellar. 

D'Alvini's success in the United States was as 
great as it had been elsewhere and he not only won 
thousands of enthusiastic admirers of his accom- 
plishments, but made hosts of friends. The news- 
papers wherever he went fairly teemed with praises 
of the genial magician and his work. 

To give sone idea of the character of D'Alvini's 
entertainments the following excerpts are made from 
newspapers in the West Indies and the United 
States :— 

The Colonial Standard of Kingston, Jamaica, of 
Jane 3rd, 1885, said in the course of a long article: 

"An exceedingly large number of our citizens were 
present on Monday night last at the Polytheama, 
Myrtle Bank, to witness the debut there of the "Jap 



EXPERIENCES IN THE WEST INDIES. 109 

of Japs," whose performances had been previously 
heralded here by credentials from all parts of the 
world, as to his remarkable and amazing necromantic 
acquirements. Nor was it very long ere these beyond 
doubt well earned laurels received the hearty endorsa- 
tion of a Kingston audience, the Jap of Japs keep- 
ing them spell-bound as it were by the startling, clean, 
rapid and imposing natures of the successive feats 
which he placed before them. So startling in their 
suddenness and their effectiveness of execution, as to 
induce on all sides from amidst the great gather- 
ing, exclamations, such as, Wonderful! Magical! 
Superb ! 

Fossibly in these days when a portion of our local 
Press is so profuse in its laudations of whatever com- 
pany or individuals come to our shores to cater to 
the public amusement, we may be thought indulging 
in the foregoing remarks, in somewhat of exaggera- 
tion. To those who may be of such opinion we 
merely say — go you and judge for yourselves, and see 
if these artists who have played before crowned 
heads and who have received the highest encomiums 
from the Press in all parts of the world do not ■ in 
every w T ay merit what we hear report of them. 

In one and all of his feats which formed the first 
part of the programme "The Jap of Japs" was equal- 
ly amazing — and as feat succeeded feat the enthusiasm 
of the audience was increasingly aroused. How the 
liquid which was plain to view in a vase on one table, 
disappeared to be seen afterwards almost instantan- 
eously transferred to a previously empty vessel on 



HO AROUND THE WORLD WITH A JUGGLER. 



a 



another table was matter of deep surprise — as was 
the eventual appearance of two pigeons from out of 
a saucepan in which was being cooked an omelet — 
and that — after a piece of paper had been set on fire, 
in the center of the saucepan. Nor was astonish- 
ment less intense when a bottle placed on one table 
and a candlestick on another opposite were made to 
change places from table to table at the will of the 
operator. When however Kara-Miss-Kara made her 
appearance, and proceeded to stand on a table hav- 
ing a Straw Cone put over her, which completely hid 
her from view — but from under which on its being 
removed she had disappeared, surprise rose to the 
highest pitch, inducing marked astonishment and 
consequent prolonged applause on the part of the 
vast numbers present." 

To Tom O'Kitchi, the Indian Eubber Boned Boy, 
was assigned the second Part of the Programme. As 
a Contortionist he is truly remarkable. We have 
seen in our experiences many Contortionists, but 
never do we recollect having seen any to equal Tom, 
his youth especially considered. It is however a 
style of amusement in which we do not take the least 
interest, and on Monday night the death- like silence 
which pervaded the audience whilst Tom was exe- 
cuting some of his most daring contortions, testified 
that they were possessed with considerable fear as to 
the possibility of some accident resulting to him from 
his daring feats. Kara-Miss-Kara we think has not 
yet been seen to the best advantage. Remarkable 
display of Equilibrium by the "Jap of Japs," brought 



EXPERIENCES IN THE WEST INDIES. Ill 

the third and last part of the programme to a con- 
clusion after which the audience separated having it 
was generally admitted witnessed a most interest- 
ing performance." 

Another Kingston newspaper commenting upon 
the ''Spiritualistic" part of D'Alvini's entertainment, 
printed the following detailed account of the flying 
table. "The entertainment given by the Jap of Japs 
of Saturday evening, surpassed any of his previous 
exhibitions, and made his audience wild with enthu- 
siasm. The subject of illustration was "Spiritual- 
ism" and "Miracles." The wonderful and seemingly 
impossible things which he did in full view of his au- 
dience could only be thought of as — Supernatural ! 
A round table which had been previously inspected, 
selected from the furniture in the residence at Myrtle 
Bank, could not, by any possibility, have had special 
mechanism concealed about it. A number of well- 
known citizens were invited from among the audience 
to come up on the platform and take seats round this 
table. Among these we noticed Mr. Dugald Camp- 
bell of Linstead (a Scottish giant), Mr. James Lu- 
nan, Mr. James Gall, Mr. C. Depass, and some others 
with Mr. D'Alvini for a medium. Behind him stood 
Kara-Miss-Kara — "The Spirit Medium" (so called). 
She is supposed to possess an extraordinary and su- 
pernatural power over all things terrestrial. When 
all these gentlemen were seated, the palms of their 
hands were well spread upon the top of the table, the 
little fingers of each sitter just touching those of 
his neighbor. Kara-Miss-Kara then "willed" the 



112 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A JUGGLER. 

table to go in one direction, and it immediately gave' 
indications of movements, Mr. Dugald Campbell, we 
believe, "disobeyed orders" by willing the table to- 
stand still, and placed his thumbs under the table to 
prevent its further progress ; but, to no purpose what- 
ever ; the table moved with increased speed ; the 
chairs on which the gentlemen sat, were in the way 
of progress ! Those round the table had then to rise,, 
pressing the table downwards with their extended 
hands, and first it turned, then it walked on the stage' 
until Kara-Miss-Kara ordered it to "rise" — whereup- 
on, it rose in mid-air with the hands of the gentlemen 
still upon the table. Then if began to dance all 
around the stage, throwing down all the operators 
(except Mr. Dugald Campbell) until at last it fell itself 
on top of Mr. Gall whom it had previously thrown' 
down in the dance, amidst upro'arish and uncontrolled 
laughter. A little boy, selected from among the oc- 
cupants of reserved seats, next walked upon the stage 
to be enclosed in "a sack;" his eyes were bandaged, 
and the sack tied and sealed. He was put into a 
dark cabinet along with Kara-Miss-Kara, whose hands 
were tightly tied by a committee of gentlemen, and 
the rope drawn tightly through to the back and 
sealed. In a few seconds a bell rang inside — no one 
can tell how — the curtain was drawn and out stepped 
the youth, with the sack under his arm and • Kara- 
Miss-Kara still tied up in the cabinet. The little fel- 
low looked quite as astonished as the audience ; for 
whilst the cabinet was opened, he knew of no change 
in his situation and could not say how he had been 











Patrizio's Table Lifting. 



EXPERIENCES IN THE "WEST INDIES. 113' 

removed from the sack. The sack was examined and 
found uncut, with the seal unbroken. The breathless 
attention with which these proceedings were closely 
watched could only be accounted for by the feeling; 
that if these were not veritable '-Miracles" it was 
hard to believe that such marvels could be accom- 
plished in "This world" by its ordinary inhabitants. 
Yet there were the manifestations patent to all be- 
holders !" 

The photographic reproduction on the opposite 
page shows Patrizio, his secretary and assistants in 
the above mentioned table lifting feat. 

The Antigua Standard, printed in the city of St. 
John, in its issue of March 4th, 1885, gives, besides 
the usual account of the performances of D'Alvini 
and his troupe something concerning the richness of 
the stage drapings and the costumes of the perform- 
ers. That paper declared the performances to be : 
"Novel and unique, and the encomiums of the Press in 
the British, French and Spanish West Indies, British 
Guiana, Brazils and Venezuela are not one bit too 
high in their testimony as to the merits of the Com- 
pany. We can add little to the volume of Press 
comments that would be more descriptive and recom- 
mendatory than what is written by our contempora- 
ries. The execution of the artists was par excellence. 
The tout ensemble of the stage was rich with oriental 
hangings, and immediately impresses one favorably 
with those who are catering for the public. The Blue 
and Gold satin hangings, the ornamental tables and 
the elaborate and unique paraphernalia of a Japan- 



114 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A JUGGLER. 

-ese conjurer, impresses one that something above the 
ordinary is to be seen. As the entertainment is 
superior to anything ever witnessed in the West 
Indies and is as attractive as anything of the kind 
produced elsewhere, ours. would be indeed a very fas- 
tidious public if the entertainments failed to please. 
We are glad to say that we have not heard such unani- 
mous praise given to any Company that has visited 
us, as that accorded to Mr. D'Alvini's Company. Our 
readers will remember the visit of Sr. Delinsky and 
how he charmed all who saw him; we can confi- 
dently assert that Mr. D'Alvini excels him, inasmuch 
as his tricks are done with little apparatus, being 
more sleight of hand than by mechanical aid. Miss 
Kara's illusions on both evenings were done with a 
grace and perfection that simply enchanted her audi- 
ences ; and her beauty and rich dress formed no small 
attraction. The last part — Miss Kara's disappear- 
ance- — caused considerable astonishment. Her dress 
on the first evening was Cerise colored tights and 
bodice, trimmed with Silver. Last evening her dress 
was Green and Gold. She enters and is asked by 
the "Jap of Japs" to stand on the table; he then 
takes a cone shaped covering, made of three barrel 
hoops covered with cloth, and puts it over Miss Kara, 
and after the usual maneouvers of Conjurers he re- 
moves the cone, and she is not to be seen." 

The Demerara Chronicle, speaking of another 
member of the D'Alvini troupe in the course of a 
long article on the entire performance, said : "Saber- 
-tini, the man with an appetite for two-edged swords 



EXPERIENCES IN THE WEST INDIES. 115 

and bayonets, had the third part in the programme to 
himself, and various were the conjectures indulged in 
with regard to his performance, which was capped by 
balancing a heavy carbine on his teeth by the tip of 
the bayonet, and then running the bayonet down his 
throat till the muzzle of the weapon seemed to rest 
on his lips. The "Jap of Japs" (Mr. D'Alvini) ap- 
peared in the final part assisted by Miss Kara, and 
Tom-o-Kitchi as the attendant sprite. D'Alvini was 
fearfully and wonderfully gotten up, in flowing-robes, 
vari-colored and grotesquely figured, with a mitre-like 
headpiece. Miss Kara wore a splendid dress, rich in 
£Oior and curious in style, and the stage was agree- 
ably furnished with the elaborate and unique para- 
phernalia of a Japanese conjurer." 



CHAPTER XIV. 

D'ALVINI IN THE UNITED STATES. 

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch printed a long illus- 
trated article, concerning D'Alvini during his engage- 
ment in the city named, and from that is excerpted 
such things as bear upon D'Alvini's performances 
and incidents of his career not before mentioned in 
this - biography. Under the heading "Wonderful 
D'Alvini" the Post-Dispatch said : 

"D'Alvini, the juggler who has entertained the 
audiences at the Grand Opera house during the past 
week, has aroused an immense amount of curiosity 
by exhibiting a number of new tricks, which are 
totally unfamiliar, even to those who have seen the 
skill of the other noted magicians exhausted. His 
entertainment is unique, and many of his tricks are 
so entirely dissimilar to anything that has been seen 
before, that questions innumerable have been asked 
concerning them. He exhibits most marvelous train- 
ing and the delicacy of his work, the deftness of his 
nimble fingers and the wonderful success of all his- 
feats arouse curiosity that is not to be wondered at.. 
Everything is done with so much ease and accuracy; 



d'alvini in the united states. 117 

that one often suspects that some hidden mechanism 
is the real magician, not D'Alvini. When one sees 
him roll an egg back and forward on an ebony cane, 
balance a tissue paper hat on a bamboo rod or toss 
an egg in the air and catch it on a china plate with- 
out cracking the shell, one's credulity is strained, no 
doubt, but D'Alvini performs those feats and there 
is no chicanery about them or him. But the trick 
that stretches curiosity to its utmost is what the ma- 
gician calls "The Bow and Ball Trick." 

He has a hickory bow about four feet in length 
and from end to encl^ are stretched two whip-cords, 
parallel and about two inches apart. They are 
raised above the bow by bridges, something 
like violin bridges, which are placed at each 
end. He holds the bow at an angle of about 
45 degrees and turns on one foot, keeping up a steady, 
continuous circular motion. He first places a red 
ball upon the strings. It remains at the bottom of 
the bow for a moment, then rises to the top, rests 
there and then rolls slowly down the strings and it 
stops wherever the magician wills it to stop. In the 
center, near the top or bottom, anywhere upon those 
strings that he may desire, it remains, resting only 
against, not on, the inclined strings. Then he adds 
another and finally a third ball, and they move ac- 
cording to his desires, seemingly of their own voli- 
tion. They are gathered at the top, or held mid- 
way, or distributed over the strings in any way 
D'Alvini may wish. It certainly does seem that 
there must be some mechanism that governs these 



118 ABOUND THE WORLD WITH A JU'GGLER. 

wonderful balls, but D'Alvini performed the feat at a 
private exhibition, where the bow and balls were 
carefully examined, and they are simply what they 
appear to the audience in the theatre to be. The 
centrifugal force created by the circular movement is 
sufficiently strong to overcome the attraction of 
gravitation, which easily accounts for the motion of 
the balls in flying from the lower to the upper end of 
the bow, and the only explanation that can be given 
of his power to hold them wherever he wills is that 
he has acquired a mastery of the centrifugal force, and 
by his movements can make it stronger or weaker, or 
equal to a nicety to the force of gravitation. It took 
years of practice to accomplish the feat, as indeed, it 
did to master his other wonderful tricks, but when 
one has learned how long and earnestly he has 
labored in his calling one is not surprised at his pro- 
ficiency." 

In an interview printed in the Post-Dispatch, 
D'Alvini said something more concerning the East 
India fakirs that does not appear before in this work. 
Being asked what he thought of the East Indian 
magicians he declared as always, that they are over- 
rated, continuing he said : "Feats that are ascribed 
to skill and even sorcery are performed by him by 
drawing on the religious superstitions of his audience. 
While seated on the veranda of the hotel in Calcutta, 
the morning after my arrival in India, a band of these 
mountebanks approached and gave their exhibition. 
That was my line of business and you may be assured 
that I kept my eyes wide open. I was disgusted. 



d'alvini in the united STATES. 119' 

Their basket trick is performed by the boy assistant, 
who is supposed to pass through the earth, but who 
is concealed in the flowing trousers of the juggler, 
hanging on to a belt which the latter wears about his 
waist. And their sacred trick, which is that of 
throwing sand into water and taking it out as dry as 
when it entered, is performed by first baking the earth 
in sulphuric acid and common white wax and again 
in ammonia. By that process the ball of sand is ren- 
dered impervious to the action of water and emerges 
as dry as tinder. The East originated jugglery, 
but the European and American have perfected the 
art." 

In person D'Alvini was below the average height, 
thick set and strongly built with a marked Japanese 
cast of features though his hair was curly, something 
that never occurs on Japanese heads. He was quick 
in movement at all times but never nervous, notwith- 
standing he was an inveterate smoker of tobacco, a 
habit which he declared did not affect his sight or do 
him any other physical injury. 

D'Alvini's first prominent engagement in the 
United States was with Professor Harry Kellar, at the 
Madison Street Theatre, Chicago, where he made a 
great hit ; he remained with Kellar for about four 
months when an arrangement was made with the Kir- 
alfys and afterwards was with Reilly & Woods Com- 
pany where he was considered by many the best part 
of the show. The next season he went with Profes- 
sor Alexander Herrmann. After making a tour of 
Mexico with him D'Alvini returned to Chicago to 



120 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A JUGGLER. 

spend his vacation. He had been home but a short 
time when he was taken ill with typhoid pneumonia 
and his death was hastened by an ulcer on the brain. 
He died Wednesday, July 3rd, 1891, and was buried 
in Oakwoods Cemetery. 



CHAPTER XV. 

REMINISCENCES OF D'ALVINI. 

In the course of such a life as that of D'Alvini's 
it was natural that hundreds of strange, humorous, 
pathetic and extraordinary incidents should be 
crowded into it, especially since D'Alvini was an 
exceedingly eccentric man and quite queer in many 
ways. 

Unfortunately, however, but very few of these out- 
side incidents of his life, beyond those already told 
in these pages, have been preserved. Following 
however are a few that will be found quite inter- 
esting. 

D'Alvini was a great practical joker and some- 
times his pranks barely escaped producing serious 
results. As an illustration of this the following inci- 
dent is related as it came from D'Alvini's lips. 
''While we were in Cheyenne, a short time ago, he 
said, a very funny incident occurred. In our magic 
performance we use a cabinet, and while the 'spirit- 
ual manifestations' are going on therein all the 
lights are turned off in the building. This evening 
two or three of us were feeling a little glum, and we 



122 ABOUND THE WORLD WITH A JUGGLER. 

put our heads together and made up our minds that 
we'd do something to liven up the performance. In 
all conjuring shows, you know, there is a board walk 
from the stage down into the centre aisle of the audito- 
rium. We call this the 'run-down.' Well, when thrs 
cabinet act was on two of us who were not engaged 
started out to have some sport. The lights were to be 
out only thirty seconds, and so we had no time to 
lose. As soon as the gas was turned out we skipped 
down the run-down and into the aisle. There we 
banged around lively among the spectators, hitting 
one a flat-hand clip on the face and then another, 
pulling their hair, bumping two men's heads together, 
and playing all such pranks, and as quick as light- 
ning. Just before the lights were turned on we 
skipped back onto the stage and into the wings, and 
there stopped to watch the sport. As soon as the 
light came we saw that there was a great commotion 
in the house. Fifteen or twenty men were on their 
feet, and half a dozen were fighting with each other. 
One man had knocked his neighbor clown under the 
seat, and another had his two hands in the hair of the 
man sitting next to him. Revolvers drawn, and it 
seemed that everybody was accusing everybody else 
of having taken advantage of the darkness to play 
mean tricks. It was ten minutes before we could get 
the house quieted." 

The St. Joseph, Mo., Herald printed, while 
D'Alvini was there the following little humorous 
story : 

"D'Alvini, the Wonderful juggler connected with 



REMINISCENCES OF d'aLVINI. 123 

the Kellar combination, does a trick that is simply 
phenomenal. He takes a common china bowl and 
borrows a silver dollar from some one in the audi- 
ence. He places this inside of the bowl, when the 
coin begins a revolution on the inside, laying out per- 
pendicularly, and races around as though inspired. 
A young lady who attended the matinee and wit- 
nessed this great feat, turned to a lady friend, heaved 
a sigh, and said : "Oh, dear ! I wish I could make 
a dollar go as far as that one." 

Frequently in newspaper paragraphs concerning 
D'Aivini, fact and fiction became mixed in the most 
startling manner. The following from a New. York 
daily is an instance in point : 

D'Aivini, the juggler and prestidigitateur, now 
with the Re illy & Woods show, is not, as many sup- 
pose, an American made up. He is a Mohammedan 
Sheik and does not speak one word of our language. 
He, however, converses fluently in Italian, Russian 
and Greek, and is a talented man. His engagement 
with the company came about in a novel way. One 
of Barnum's agents saw his performance in Hin- 
doostan and at once engaged him for the venerable 
showman's own show. D'Aivini, however, not liking 
"tent-life," quit the circus after a few weeks. One 
evening at a reception given by John Stetson at the 
Hoffman House, D'Aivini was engaged to amuse the 
invited guests. Pat. Reilly happened to be one of 
them as also did Tony Pastor. After witnessing his 
performance both were anxious to secure his services, 
but neither could speak a language understood by 



124: AROUND THE WORLD WITH A JUGGLER. 

D'Alvini. Keilly could converse fluently in Irish, 
Giberish, and United States, while Tony's run of 
language was constituted of Bainery English. Both 
hurried off to find an interpreter and Eeilly secured 
one sooner than Pastor and had the contract signed 
when Tony appeared with his interpreter. Tony bid 
high for the man, but Pat. went hirn one better and 
got him." 

Speaking of ridiculous accidents that sometimes 
happen to a magician's apparatus, that spoil the 
tricks, D'Alvini said once to a friend : 

"Conjurers often have funny accidents happen to 
them. I was once working the dummy head, out of 
the top of which comes any card a spectator may 
call for. When the trick has been worked several 
times the conjurer makes the whole pack come out 
of the mouth. I had a new assistant to pull the 
strings, and I had just ordered him to produce the 
jack of spades which a gentleman wished to see when 
the cylinder got out of order and the whole pack flew 
out of the mouth. I saw a similar accident happen 
to another magician. He produced the cards behind 
a glass in a frame, and before he could ask for a card 
or explain what his trick was his man pulled the 
string and up flew the whole deck as in my case. 
He, however, turned it into another trick and passed 
off the contretemps very nicely. One night my wife 
was doing a flower trick. The flower was made to 
grow by fanning the pot, apparently. The trick was 
worked by means of clock-work. She had just be- 
gun fanning it when, to my horror, I discovered 



REMINISCENCES OF d'aLVINI. 125 

that I had forgotten to put in the flower. In the 
meantime the clock-work was fast running clown. I 
told her in an 'aside' from the wings, and then 
brought in the flower in my handerchief and by a 
sleight-of-hand trick dropped it into the pot. It was 
the clumsiest and most laughable thing I ever did. 
But there was nothing else to do. A friend of mine 
who travelled with me had a skeleton which was 
worked by means of electric wires, and did sums, 
etc., in the manner of Psycho. We were playing in 
Java when the great earthquake took place there. 
The atmospheric disturbances were so great as to 
destroy entirely the power of the battery, and the 
skeleton wouldn't answer a single question. Elec- 
tricity was therefore abandoned and the trick done in 
the same way that Psycho is run. How is that? 
Oh, that's a professional secret." 

It may be interesting to the riders of bicycle- s to- 
day, to be informed that so far back as 18S4, Kara, 
who was Mrs. D'Alvini, had perfect control of the 
bicycle and not only rode it in all sorts of astonish- 
ing ways, but took little Tom-o-Kitchi on her shoulders 
and juggled him about as though he were a doll 
capable of working like an automaton. 

The recent death of Mr. John A. Cockerill, the 
world-renowned journalist, lends additional interest 
to the following testimonial of Mr. D'Alvini's talents : 

New York Press Club, 
120 nassau street. 

New York. July 2, 1S88. 

Dear Sir: — As President of the New York Press 



126 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A JUGGLER. 

Club, I desire to thank you, on behalf of that organ- 
ization, for the services rendered by you in connec- 
tion with the benefit given by Prof. Herrmann, at the 
Academy of Music recently. You were a valuable 
feature of the entertainment, and the New York 
Press Club will ever hold your services in grateful 
remembrance. 

As President of that Organisation, I take pleasure 
in commending you to the brethren throughout the 
country. ■ Very respectfully yours, 

(Signed) John A. Cockerill, 

President N. Y. Press Club. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

D'ALVINFS PROGRAMMES— BEFORE THE FOOTLIGHTS 
—BEHIND THE SCENES. 

♦The following is a copy of Mr. D'Alvini's Adver- 
tising Programme : 

ORIENTAL 

AND 

Japanese Repkesentations 

OF 

D'ALVINI, 

Who has had the honor, at their solicitation, of 
presenting his entertainments in the presence of : — 
The Mikado of Japan, The Royal Family in Windsor 
Castle, His Majesty the Emperor Napoleon, The Sul- 
tan in Constantinople, The Shah Eddinof Persia, The 
Viceroy of Egypt at Cairo, The Prince of Wales, The 
Duke of Edinburgh, The Czar of Russia. 

Wherever the performances of Mr. D'Alvini have 
been produced they have received the highest en- 
comiums and are acknowledged as being unequalled 
in their art. Among others he has appeared at the 
following prominent places, and has obtained every- 
where the unstinted praise and interest of his audi- 
ence. 



128 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A JUGGLER. 
ENGAGEMENTS IN GERMANY. 

Berlin, Walhalla Theatre, 9 months. 
Leipsic, Schuetzenhaus, 1 Month. 
Dresden, Victoria-Salon, 3 Months. 
Breslau, Victoria Theatre, 10 days. 
.Hamburg, Saegebuehl-Sall, 17 days. 
Munich, Kils Kollosseum, 6 weeks. 

AUSTRIA. 

Vienna, Danzer's Orpheum, 7 Months. 

V 

RUSSIA. 

St. Petersburg, Circus grand Ciniselli, 3 Months- 
Moscow, Circus grand Ciniselli, 2 Months. 

FRANCE. 

Paris, Eldorado, Folies Bergeres, Cirque d' Ete, 
7 Months. 

I have also performed in Japan, The Indies,. 
Africa, Spain, North, South and Central America. 

ENGLAND. 

London : Aquarium Theatre, Crystal Palace, 

Alexander Palace, Globe Theatre, 

Alhambra Theatre, Grecian Theatre,. 

Britannia Theatre, Boyal Aquarium. 

LONDON MUSIC HALLS. 

Cambridge, Oxford Pavilion, 

Evans Supper, Boyal, 

London Pavilion, South London, 

Lusbays, South Palace, 

Metropolitan, Sun Knightsbridge. 

And in all of the cities of England, Scotland, Ire- 
land and Wales. 



d'alvini's programmes. 129* 

Mr. D'Alvini's Programme. 

(All feats are produced in the Japanese national 
costume.) 

1. Feats of Juggling, presented by Mr. D'Alvini, 
using Bottles, Plates, Balls, Bullets, etc., etc.,. 
more than 20 original effects. 

2. Tommy the Wolf. Transformation Scene, exe- 
cuted by Tom-O'Kitchi while balanced on Mr. 
D'Alvini's feet. 

3. Comical Juggling Act, by Mr. D'Alvini. 

4. Exercises on the Suspended Bamboo, or Bamboo> 
Volante, Nepom Losick Pom, by Tschisei 
Kitchi. 

5. Xon plus ultra. Original production of Mr. 
D'Alvini. Grand balancing feat with square 
wooden blocks, nothing like it ever produced. 
Years of practice by a skillful performer neces- 
sary to produce this Jewel of Juggling Feats. 

6. Japanese Contortion. On a pyramid of Japan- 
ese boxes by Tom O'Kitchi. 

7. The Japanese Tea Box. The most effective 
magical feat of Mr. D'Alvini. Keal Oriental 
Conjuring. Mr. D'Alvini in view of audience 
puts together a small square box composed of 
five parts, and immediately produces from it, a 
large number of handkerchiefs, flags, 600 yards 
of ribbon, balls, and a rabbit larger than the box 
itself. 

8. Chinese Breaking Ladder. By Tom-O'Kitchi 
while balanced on Mr. D'Alvini's shoulder. 



130 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A JUGGLER. 

9. The Flying Stars. Indian Magical feat. From 
a small piece of tissue paper burned to ashes, Mr. 
D'Alvini will produce over 60 yards of ribbons, 
a number of candles, concluding with a fine dis- 
play of fire-works and the instantaneous appear- 
ance of a large open umbrella. 

10. The Shah's Flower Garden. Persian produc- 
tion of flowers, favorite of the Shah. Mr. D'Al- 
vini. 

11. Japanese Mysteries. Using fifty different ob- 
jects, each feat complete in itself, each article 
balanced on plates, swords, cards, glasses, bot- 
tles, revolvers, &c, &c, by Mr. D'Alvini and 
Tom-O'Kitchi D'Alvini. 

12. Tom-O'Kitchi D'Alvini s balancing act on the 
wire. Its like not seen before. 

BALANCING FEATS OF D'ALVINI. 

NEW. SENSATIONAL. NOVEL. 

13. Lamp Pyramid. 12 lighted petroleum lamps 
and two plates balanced on a chair. 

14. Balancing Pyramid of Chinese Cups. 

15. Balancing Pyramid of Bottles and Glasses. 

16. Balancing Pyramid of Swords and Doves. 

17. Balancing Pyramid of Walking Sticks and Filled 
Glasses. Mr. D'Alvini will further execute more 
than 30 balancing feats with all imaginable ar- 
ticles. 

18. Bamboo Perch by Tom-O'Kitchi D'Alvini bal 
anced on shoulders of Mr. D'Alvini. 



d'alvini's programmes. 131 

1 9. Specialfeat of Mr. D'Alvini, not introduced by any 
other juggler. Extraordinary feat of juggling 
with three loaded revolvers. 

20. Expert Juggling with Glass, Egg, and plate. 

21. Expert Juggling with three fans and three 
balls. 

22. Very Comical Juggling Act with large elastic 
ball. 

23. Tight Hope Ascension, executed by Tom-0'Kit- 
chi D'Alvini walking up the rope from the stage 
to the dome over 150 feet. 

24. D'Alvini's Album. Extraordinary ' Sensation. 
Greeted with the greatest applause everywhere 
produced. Mr. D'Alvini shows an artist's port- 
folio empty, and after placing it on an ordinary 
table produces from it, ladies' bonnets, shopping 
bags, flower-pots, bouquets, four large trunks, 
live ducks, fowls, rabbits, doves, birds in large 
cages, &C, &c, and in conclusion Tom-O'Kitchi 
appears in the portfolio. 

25. Japanese Magical and Juggling Feats with um- 
brellas, eggs, plates, hats, then five baskets with 
butterflies. Juggling with three balls on a Jap- 
anese violin bow. Chinese Oracle or the disap 
pearance and reappearance of a live canary. 

Mr. D'Alvini's programme consists of 150 differ- 
ent feats. 

The following is the programme he used behind the 
scenes, exactly as written by himself for his own 
guidance. 



132 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A JUGGLER. 

"JAP OF JAPS" JUGGLING PROGRAMME. 

1. Wolf Screen. Special Number. 

2. Small Screen on the feet. Special Number. 

3. Breaking Ladder. Special Number. 

4. Bamboo Shoulder Balancing. Special Number. 
5; Tassel Trick. 

6. Water Trick. 

7. Small glass, stick and plate balancing. 

8. Eight glass bottles, plate and lamp balancing. 

9. Card and Sword balancing. 

10. Pipes and Pigeons balancing. 

11. Sword and dove balancing. 

12. Eight lamps on chair balancing. 

13. Large dish and stick. 

14. Sword, bottle and glass. 

15. Throwing ball, plate, ball, sword and bottle. 

16. Large elastic ball. 

17. Hand and plates. 

18. Three balls up the string. 

19. Paper hat. 

20. Bottle and plate. 

21. Sword and Saber. 

22. Bottle and Stick. 

23. Juggling basket. 

24. Umbrella Spinning. 

25. New Umbrella Spinning. 

26. The bottle dislocation, — passing under the arm. 

27. Top and Sword. 

28. Top and String. 

29. Top box. 

30. Six Baskets. 



d'alvini's programmes, 133 

31. Egg Stick. 

32. Egg, hat and cigar. 

33. Spinning bowls and basins on boards. 

34. Candle and Candle stick juggling. 

35. Two swinging balls with boy holding cards and 
corks. 

36. Two knob stick juggling. 

37. Revolver Juggling. 

38. Spinning bottle on point of sword with plate on 
top. 

39. Handkerchief spinning with stick. 

40. Large top and small tops spinning. 

41 . Butterfly fanning. 

42. Spinning tall hat on stick. 

43. Juggling cannon ball, bottle, egg and plate. 

44. Breaking a stick of wood on the edge of two 
glasses. 

45. Cigaret paper balancing on hat. 

46. Cigar box and glass. 

47. Large glass and plate. 

48. Money spinning in bowls. 

49. Stick and glass swinging. Tom O'Kitchi. 

50. Serpent trick. 

51. Plate and pipes. 

52. Plate, bottle and sword. 

53. Plate, glass and stick. 

54. Whip and two plates. 

55. Juggling two billiard balls and tube. 

56. Balancing pocket handkerchief. 

SPECIAL ILLUSIONS. 

1. Ghost Show. 



134 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A JUGGLER. 

2. Shadow Pantomime. 

3. Pantomime Diablo ; Kara, Jap and Tom. 

4. Bending Act by Tom O'Kitehi. 

5. High Wire Walking Act by Tom O'Kitehi. 

6. Bamboo Swinging. Tom O'Kitehi. 
7-. Bicycle Act by Miss Kara. 

8. Cabinet Kope-tying by Miss Kara. 

9. Dancing Skeleton on Table. 

10. Slate writing with two slates. 

11. Panorama; Dissolving Views. 

12. Necromancy — Turning Tables — Miss Kara. 

CONJURING NUMBERS OF MISS KARA AND 

1. Fire-works tiick. 

2. Bibbon box with rabbits. 

3. Kara, box with boy, paper and cage of cloves. 

4. Jam-pot with ribbons and bouquets. 

5. Flower Vase. Kara. 

6. Flower vase clock work. 

7. Flying bird cage with canary. 

8. Bird cage, vases passing one to the other. 

9. Taking three blocks of wood and coat off of two 
strings. 

10. Shooting bird from box to cage. 

11. Flower from the hat, vase of flowers and 
rabbit. 

12. Egg and handkerchief and glass passing the 
same. 

13. Catching the egg in the mouth with handker- 
chief. 

14. Dove and bouquet with hat. 



d'alvini's programmes. 135' 

15. Billiard balls trick. 

16. Flags of all nations. 

17. Candle and handkerchief, passing same from 
paper, 

IS. Watch in loaf of bread. 

19. Tying handkerchiefs. 

20. Album D'Alvini's. 

21. Bottles and candle stick passing. 

22. Flying handkerchiefs from bottles. 

23. Oranges and money passing. 

24. Card on point of sword. 

25. Dove and rings in bottle shot from a pistol. 

26. Passing ink and water. 

27. Rings — joining. 

28. Gloves, large and small. 

20. Passing cages and pigeon from box to box. 

30. Japanese box with boy. 

31. Indian box with Miss Kara. 
S2. Magic stick. 

33. Money catching in the hat. 

34. Bird cage produced from a vase of flowers, 
Kara. 

35. Vanishing lady, Kara. 

36. • Dove pan. 

37. The raising cards from glass box, tied to chair 
with stick. 

38. Cutting handkerchief with money in center. 

39. Bottle and handkerchiefs. 

40. Borrowed handkerchiefs, white, made large and 
small, with printed card and afterwards passed 
to the center of an egg in center of a ring. 



136 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A JUGGLER. 

41. Three cards chosen by the public and after- 
wards placed in the pack and made to rise from 
the same. 

42. A box shown empty and placed on the table. 
Then take a bird cage in cloth and vanish it. 

. The box produces balls and then the bird cage. 

43. Eibbons from an orange. 

44. Passing wine from bottle to two glasses, — three 
paper covers. 

45. A card chosen by the company and afterwards 
placed in the pack, and a pedestal placed on 
table, the card flying from pack to figure on 
pedestal. 

46. A candle lighted by passing the hand over it. 

47. Eggs produced from a borrowed handkerchief. 

48. Lady's parasol trick. The two handkerchiefs 
torn and wrapped in a paper. Parasol wrapped 
up in a paper. The cover of parasol takes 
place of handkerchiefs, and handkerchiefs are 
found on parasol frame. Now burn pieces 
of handkerchiefs and find them in a box placed 
in the public, and parasol produced from a sheet 
of newspaper. 

49. A book shown with blank leaves, and after- 
wards containing drawings of many kinds. 

50. Paper eating with cigarettes, and afterwards 
producing many yards of paper and then a large 
candle. 

51. Multiplying money. Money trick. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

PSYCHOLOGY OF THE ART OF CONJURING. 

[By Dr. Max Dessoir, with special reference to the feats of mediums, by 
H. J. Burlingame] 

I still remember how I felt when I saw the first 
magical performance. As soon as the doors were 
opened I took my seat and waited a full hour for the 
moment when the curtain would rise in front of this 
world of wonders. And when the performance be- 
gan, when eggs changed to dollars, dollars to pocket- 
handkerchiefs, when bird cages disappeared in the 
air, and empty boxes held numerous presents, I felt 
as if I was living in a land of dreams, far away from 
the earth. 

Now books without number from the cheap "sell" 
of a ten cent pamphlet, to a finely bound and fully 
illustrated edition, offer to initiate you into the mys- 
teries of the black art. But all these books and di- 
rections, with but few exceptions, only say in what 
the trick consists, not how it is done, without regard 
to the fact that the most interesting tricks are kept 
secret by the adepts or only revealed in consideration 
of an extra high price. Apparatus and explanations 
do not reveal the "kernel" of modern magic. If you 



138 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A JUGGLER. 

know how a conjurer causes a dollar to disappear,, 
you know nothing, and you will be deceived hundreds 
of times by this same trick ; and if you practice it 
exactly according to directions, the chances are that 
you will have only mediocre success in performing it. 
.What makes prestidigitation the art of deception,. is 
not the technical outward appearance, but the psycho- 
logical kernel. The ingenious use of certain soul fac- 
ulties weighs incomparably heavier than all dexterity 
and machinery. To prove this fact and to analyze it 
theoretically is the task of this article. We must first 
however introduce the reader to the society with whose 
doings we wish to make him acquainted. 

The history of jugglery forms an important part 
in the long history of human deception. The first 
period in which the production of seemingly impos- 
sible occurrences makes a claim to higher powers, 
reaches from the beginning of the Egytian priesthood 
to the beginning of the middle ages. Followers of 
this seriously deceiving tendency are to be found in 
our days in the spiritualistic mediums. To a second 
period belong the jugglers of the middle ages and 
modern times, for they admit that everything is done 
in a natural way. The third period dates from the 
beginning of our century. For the first time, the 
conjurers appear on the stage, they are received in 
society, they exclude all jugglerism from their pro- 
grammes, and work with cards, coins, handkerchiefs 
and other ordinary objects. Of course the jugglers 
did not disappear altogether, but they retired to the 
villages, and had nothing to do with the better class 



PSYCHOLOGY OF THE ART OF CONJURING. 131) 

of their professional brothers. Only occasional- 
ly was such a nomad heard from. One of them 
was Signor Castelli, who travelled through Europe in, 
the '20s, going by wagon and using a portable stage. 
He attracted great attention by announcing his in- 
tention of devouring a living person at each per- 
formance. The solution of the riddle was that tho 
rough fellow would invite a volunteer from the 
audience and having secured one, would begin by 
biting his neck which caused the subject to retire 
precipitately, making the execution of the trick im- 
possible. 

The conjurers of the better class were mostly 
French or Italian, and called themselves physiciem 
or escamoteurs. The name of prestidigitateur comes 
from Jules de Eovere. He belonged to the masters 
of that old school, to which belonged also Olivier, 
Pre jean, Brazy, Comus, Chalons, Aclrien pere, Cour- 
tois and Comte, not to mention Lichteuberg's famous 
Pinetti. The most important was undoubtedly 
Comte. A Frenchman from head to foot, he did 
most extraordinary things with rare taste and great 
amiability. All of his illusions, meant for small 
audiences, carry the impress of finest humor. For 
instance, he would assure his audience he was going 
to steal all the ladies present, the gentlemen were a 
little frightened and somewhat amused, Comte reas- 
sures them that he will do it to their satisfaction, he 
waves his hands in the air and produces a quantity 
of the most beautiful roses out of nothing. He con- 
tinues : "I had promised to take away and meta- 



140 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A JUGGLER. 

morphose all these ladies, could I select a more 
graceful and pleasant form? In metamorphosing 
you all to roses, do I not offer the copy to the model ? 
Don't I take you away to give you back to yourselves? 
Tell me gentlemen, did I not succeed ?" Then he 
begins to divide the flowers among them ; "Here, 
mademoiselle, is a rose you make blush with jeal- 
ousy." In front of another pretty girl he changes 
the rose into an ace of hearts, and the gaJlant wiz- 
ard says : "Will you please, madam, place your hand 
on your heart, you have only one heart ? Am I not 
right ? I beg your pardon for this indiscreet ques- 
tion, it was necessary, for though you have only one 
heart, you might have them all." Such gallantries 
are told about Comte by the hundred. An important 
progress in the development of the art was made by 
Philippe and Torrini. The latter especially possessed 
such extraordinary dexterity in handling cards and 
such an incredible boldness of execution that the 
audience was involuntarily carried away to admira- 
tion without suspicion. His piquet trick stands alone 
of its kind. In other respects he also showed ad- 
mirable boldness. He was an Italian nobleman who 
had, by adverse circumstances, been driven to take 
the career of a conjurer, and once while staying in 
Home, he was invited to give a performance before 
the pope. The day before, he happened to see in a 
jeweler's window a very valuable watch, which was 
said to be the only one in existence like the celebrat- 
ed watch of the Cardinal X. This one had but just 
arrived the day before from Paris. After Torrini 



PSYCHOLOGY OF THE ART OF CONJURING. 141 

had ascertained that the cardinal would be present 
at the performance he bought the chronometer for 
the respectable sum of twelve hundred francs, and made 
the watchmaker promise to keep silent about the matter. 
At the close of his performance he asked for any 
very costly object, which if possible was the only one 
of its kind in the world. At the pope's order and 
with evident reluctance, the cardinal handed his watch 
to the artist. Torrini took a mortar and pestle and 
pounded the beautiful piece of mechanism into a 
thousand atoms, to the horror of the audience. The 
cardinal announced with a trembling voice that his 
watch had not been exchanged, as he could recognize 
it in the pieces. In reality the watch had been de- 
stroyed. He used this moment of general excitement 
to slip the genuine watch unobserved into the pocket 
of the pope's robe. As soon- as quietness w 7 as re- 
stored, Torrini asked the audience to name a person 
who was sure not to be in secret understanding with 
him. As he expected, everybody pointed to Pius VII. 
"Very well, continued Torrini, making some mysteri- 
ous motions, I want to reproduce the watch and it 
shall be found in the pocket of His Holiness." The 
pope immediately felt in his pocket with signs of in- 
credulity and blushing with excitement took the watch 
from his pocket, which he handed to the cardinal in a 
great hurry as if he was afraid of it, or might burn 
his fingers with the mysterious thing. One can imag- 
ine what a sensation this caused in Borne. Torrini 
never repented this expensive but original advertise- 
ment. 



142 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A JUGGLER. 

A. conjurer must be able to show a varied pedigree. 
On his mother's side he must be a direct descendant 
of the witch of Endor, on his father's side he must 
descend from the magician Merlin, he must have had 
Zornebogh and Sykorax for god-fathers and count 
Faust's witch among his cousins. In other words he 
must be born to his profession. The modern wizard 
must possess in a high degree the same quality as a 
physician. He must inspire confidence. The audi- 
ence must believe him when he says he holds an 
orange in his left hand, even if it has passed long be- 
fore into his right hand. The capability to win at 
the start the sympathy of the public, in order that 
the audience without exception is willing to follow the 
intentions of the artist, cannot be acquired, and yet 
the chief help of the prestidigitateur lies in just this 
mood of the public. It is not by dexterity alone that 
he accomplishes his wonders. The word prestidigita- 
tion is not well chosen. A good conjurer makes the 
uninitiated believe that he does everything so skill- 
fully and rapidly that you cannot be deceived. In 
reality however he makes the necessary motions with 
great calmness and slowness. The j)erfection lies in 
the art to influence the spectator to such an extent 
that he could do anything before his eyes without its 
being noticed. An expert must of course have a nat- 
ural talent for this second requirement of his profes- 
sion. We see many amateurs who could have 
achieved good results if they only had not had the 
foolish vanity to boast of their ''dexterity." The 
charm of this art does not lie in the power to surprise 



PSYCHOLOGY OF THE ART OF CONJURING. 143 

the spectator with ape like rapidity, but in the capa- 
bility of making him go home with the feeling that he 
has spent an hour in a real world of wonders. The 
last effect is, from an aesthetic point of view much 
higher than the first, and raises prestidigitation above 
the level of jugglery. The reason for this is that per- 
sons from the best circles of society, take to conjur- 
ing without hesitation, but would never think of pro- 
ducing juggling tricks. The caution for less haste 
has another reason. The audience needs time to see 
the movements and understand their meaning. If 
for instance in some transformation, the second phase 
takes place without the first being properly announced, 
say ; if in the changing of an orange into an apple 
nobody noticed that the first object was really an 
orange the whole trick is of course a failure. There- 
fore the real conjurer must have that perfect repose 
which is not given to everybody. Besides a pres- 
ence which inspires confidence and an imposing ad- 
dress he must have the faculty to surround himself 
with a magical atmosphere in which the spectators be- 
lieve the most incredible things possible and take the 
most simple as wonderful. In this direction lies the 
psychological importance of many little devices which 
the practical man generally uses. For instance he does 
not ask for the needed dollar, but charms it out 
of the nose of some stranger. He does not put his 
gloves in the pockets like ordinary beings, but rubs 
them away between his hands. At last the spectator 
does not know how T to get out of such a labyrinth of 
witchcraft, and is in a frame of mind which makes 



144 ABOUND THE WORLD WITH A JUGGLER. 

the conjurer's task an easy one. The main secret of 
all presticligitateurs, however, lies in the power to 
direct the thoughts of the audience into such a groove 
that a solution of the trick seems for the moment the 
natural result of the artificially underlying causes. 
The public must think the card has-been transformed 
by a breath; in this way following the train of 
thoughts which has been suggested by the conjurer 
in all possible ways. Then reason turns up and says : 
It is impossible that a breath can transform an ace" 
of hearts into a jack of spades, and from this logical 
contradiction of two simultaneous ideas, results the 
unpleasant consciousness of illusion. Self con- 
sciousness is the subjective condition of this psycho- 
logical foundation of the conjurer's art. From the 
moment he takes the cards in his hands the artist 
must believe firmly that he can do as he pleases. 
Every expression must fall from his mouth as though 
it was a real magic sentence, and his own false as- 
sertions must seem truth to himself. Only he who is 
convinced convinces. Much depends on the skillful 
grouping of the trick. In this way a comparatively 
simple trick can be used profitably as a pedagogic 
preparation for a greater wonder, and thought con- 
nections can be produced which are very favorable to 
the success of the experiments. The most important 
in the art of performing however is the language and 
the gestures. No rules can be given but perhaps an 
example can explain what is required. Let us take 
for instance the vanishing of a dollar. Directions 
say : Take the dollar between the thumb and middle 



PSYCHOLOGY OF THE ART OF CONJURING. 145 

finger of the left Land, take hold of it seemingly 
with the right hand which is then immediately 
closed, then you open it and show it empty to the 
audience against their expectations. The whole trick 
consists in dropping the dollar into the palm of the 
left hand where it remains concealed. This is done 
at the moment you pretend to take hold of it with 
the right hand. One should see this simple trick 
performed by some first-class artist like Prof. 
Kouclere. He takes the dollar and throws it repeat- 
edly on the wooden table top, to prove as he says, 
that it is a genuine dollar. In reality he gives every 
one the impression that a thing which makes so much 
noise cannot disappear noiselessly, an impression 
which increases the effect of the trick. Then the 
clear vibrating sound confuses the spectators to such 
a degree that they follow further developments in a 
sleepy condition. He then takes the coin in his left 
hand, looks closely at the right hand, as if it were 
the most important, and takes hold of the dollar. 
This trick is so convincing that you would be willing 
to swear the right hand held the coin, the position of 
the fingers adapts them naturally to this sup- 
position. As soon as he has taken hold he moves 
his right hand sideways, away from the left hand, the 
whole body follows the movement, the head bent 
forward, the look in his eyes, everything forces the 
spectator to follow this hanfl. In the meantime the 
two first fingers of the left hand point to the right 
hand, while the two other fingers hold the coin which 
is covered by the thumb. By such shading and par- 



146 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A JUGGLER. 

ticularly by the constant talking of the artist the 
whole attention is concentrated on the right hand, and 
everybody makes up his mind to pay close attention, 
to see how the dollar will disappear from this hand. 
He makes little backward movements with the ringers, 
by which they move gradually away from the palm 
of the hand, and apparently deeply interested in the 
phenomenon, he says, "see how the dollar grows 
smaller and smaller, there, it has disappeared entire- 
ly, melted away." He opens the fingers wide, 
straightens himself up, and the sparkling eyes seem 
to say, "how queer that disappeared, it is strange!'' 

How can one be educated to become such a wiz- 
ard? the reader will ask. First of all practice, 
practice constantly. You go from the simple tricks 
to the more difficult ones by practicing first the sin- 
gle part, then the whole. This first stage which can 
be learned from teachers and books, contains but 
few psychologically important elements. As soon as 
ihe technical side of a trick is mastered to perfection 
the student must turn to the dramatic, which is the 
most important as far as the effect is concerned. 
Hence in order to acquire the greatest possible 
naturalness it is better to practice in front of a mir- 
ror. In doing so the conjurer must do really what 
he later on only pretends to do. He must observe close- 
ly the positions and motions of his hands, and imitate 
them with great accuracy, that there may be no 
difference between reality and illusion. 

First of all he must become accustomed to follow- 
ing with his eyes the hand which seems to hold the 



PSYCHOLOGY OF THE ART OF CONJURING. 147 

object, as it is the surest means to draw the attention 
of the audience in the same direction. From the 
preceding we can see that touch and sight are the most 
important senses in the execution of our art. Method- 
ic;) i cultivation is the chief object of the studious 
prestidigitateur. It is a good plan to practice the 
juggler's art in order to learn the accommodation of 
motion. In researches in so-called Myology we have 
had much to do with jugglers, and must admit that 
the fine sensibility of these people for the slightest 
vacillation of balance and the adaptation of their 
movements are almost incredible. A Japanese per- 
former juggled once four differently weighted balls in 
the air, and at same time read aloud from an English 
paper; he must therefore calculate exactly what mo- 
tions to make with his hands, though his eyes and at- 
tention were occupied in another direction. The 
French conjurer Cazeneuve possesses an equally won- 
derful sensibility of touch. He is able to take from 
the top of a pack of cards, by placing his fingers at 
the ends of the cards, any number he wishes at one 
grasp. You ask for six cards, he takes the cards off 
and gives you exactly six, without stopping to look at 
or count them himself. You ask for twenty, he does 
the same, thirteen, thirty, twenty-four, always the 
same success. What fabulous sensibility is necessary 
for these slight differences in height can best be 
learned by trying the same experiment. Houclin gives 
important hints for the development of sight. He 
had always admired in pianists the capability of look- 
ing over a large number of black dots ; he saw that this 



148 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A JUGGLER. 

appreciative observation could be carried further if 
based on intelligence and memory. He began a series 
of exercises which can be explained in a few words. 
Nearly all normal persons can give the number of a 
few objects at a glance, mostly five. Whether there 
are three, four or five coins lying together, one can 
see without thinking but as the number increases a 
little reflection is necessary. Houclin with his son 
Emil undertook to cultivate their perceptions to such 
a degree that they could calculate the number of dom- 
ino stones which were taken at random from a set. 
After some weeks' practice the maximum had reached 
12. Now he changed the experiments to include ob- 
jects of cliff erens kinds. For this purpose they took 
daily walks through the streets together, when they 
came to a show window filled with different articles, 
they looked in attentively, then walking away stopped 
after going a few steps, and made notes of the objects* 
they had seen in that short time. At first they only 
saw four or five distinctly, in a few months they had 
carried it to thirty, the little one even sometimes to 
forty. With the help of this abnormal power of per- 
ception, Houdin was enabled to do most of his bril- 
liant tricks, among others the experiment called 
"Second Sight." Now-a-days we can easily explain 
this so-called Second Sight, which in the '40's and 
'50's attracted the attention of the whole civilized 
world. The father collected on a table a number of 
objects, say twenty, and turns .around for half a min- 
ute in such a way that the boy could see them, then 
he was able to tell the number of objects and describe. 



PSYCHOLOGY OF THE ART OF CONJURING. 149 

them, what is missing could be helped out by an in- 
genious code of signals. This was specially used 
when the articles were wrapped up. In this case 
Houdin would draw the giver into a short conversa- 
tion, using the time to bore a little hoie in the wrap- 
ping paper with his thumb nail which he kept sharp 
for that purpose, and to examine the contents with 
the eagle eye of the former mechanic. It is aston- 
ishing to hear that experiments were made in this 
way are almost wonders. We are also told that he 
profited by his studies in another direction. This 
practicing had given him the faculty of following sim- 
ultaneously two different ideas or things, he would 
think of what he was doing and what he was saying, 
two very different things with the conjurer. It is a 
very important thing for the artist to make the 
play of his hands quite independent of the motions 
.of his body, and to perform the trick without moving 
the parts of the body not in use. The fingers must 
form a mechanism for themselves, which work quite 
independently. Only then is the conjurer able to ob- 
serve the faces of the spectators with sufficient care 
to avoid threatening dangers. So armed he will be 
invincible. The practiced artist never fails in his 
tricks. The facility of execution is the only thing 
that depends in a certain way on the public. The 
ignorant are more difficult to deceive than the edu- 
cated. The former sees in every "tour" a mistrust in 
his intelligence, an attempt to dupe him, against 
which he fights with all his might, while the latter 
gives himself up willingly to the illusion as he came 



150 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A JUGGLER. 

for the purpose of being deceived. But it is almost 
incredible what naivete the best educated often dis- 
play. We have seen a professor who when speaking 
of the well known linking ring trick, swore high and 
low that he had examined all eight rings, though in 
reality he had held but two in his hands. The ex- 
planation for this lies in the two elementary functions 
of our psychological organism ; association and imita- 
tion. 

The laws of representative reproduction are the 
leading points for the mechanic of consciousness, 
(thoughtful mechanic ?) Modern psychology teaches that 
when representation A, has been simultaneous with rep- 
resentation B, or followed it immediately,, it has a ten- 
dency to return to consciousness as soon as A returns. 
It is then said that B is associated to A. The sight 
of a knife handle awakens in you immediately the 
idea the blade always seen with it, and the flash of 
lightning always produces the expectation of a thun- 
derbolt. The simplest type of deception consists in 
that certain expectations are not fulfilled by unusual 
outward circumstances. When I can feel with crossed 
fingers more than one round object, where there is 
only one I can only be convinced by seeing that I have 
only one sphere. The experience made a thousand 
times that what is felt double is also double produces 
in this case an illusion. It happens sometimes when 
you are travelling that early in the morning you lift 
your water pitcher in such a manner that it almost 
flies up to the ceiling, the reason is the carelessness of 
the chambermaid, who has forgotten to fill the pitcher. 



PSYCHOLOGY OF THE ART OF CONJURING. 151 

The weight of the pitcher and the required exertion 
are associated together in a peculiar way. The read- 
er has surely already seen the puzzling trick of break- 
ing several borrowed rings and loading them in a 
pistol, which is then fired at a box, from which is 
taken half a dozen others in the innermost of which 
are found the rings. Without stopping to explain the 
first part of this trick we shall examine the second 
part. The artist places a large box on the table, he 
unlocks and opens it, in it is found a smaller box 
which is taken out, opened and found to contain a 
third box. When the conjurer has shown to the pub- 
lic that 2 came out of 1, and 3 out of 2, he can easily 
take the last and smallest box from the ledge of the 
table in such a manner as if it came out of the next 
largest box. The observer is fully convinced of the 
truth by the reality of the first circumstances and 
never doubts that -i came out of 3. The psycholog- 
ical foundation of deception lies in the ingenious use 
of the usual association. The taking of a box, and 
the taking of this box out of another box are two 
representations, between which the cleverness of the 
conjurer has artificially drawn a close connection. 
The spectator is led to draw a logically correct con- 
clusion from two first causes, also in the third case, 
where the suppositions do not take place as in the 
first and second eases. We have herein a new prin- 
ciple in conjuring. It is first, to really do that which 
you want the observer to believe you have done. In 
fact this rule is often followed in reality : First, the 
aitist really throws a few dollars into the hat before 



152 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A JUGGLER. 

he prevents the others by palming, from following 
their predecessors ; he actually places one card on the 
second pack, before he slides the other four into his 
sleeve. The disappearing of an orange in the air is a 
classical illustration of this fact. You sit at the head 
of a table, throw an orange about two feet high, catch 
it with one hand and drop this hand below the table 
top as you do so, the orange is again thrown up, and 
this time about 4 feet, it is again caught and again 
the hand goes down below the table for a third throw, 
but the orange this time is dropped on your lap and 
without a moment's hesitation the third throwing 
motion is made. Nine-tenths of the public see the 
orange disappear in the air. In this simple and in- 
structive experiment there is no covering as in the 
trick of passing the coins into a hat mentioned above, 
and there is no apparatus as in the trick with the 
boxes. Everything depends on the subjective condi- 
tions of deception not oia any outward means. Some 
small tricks are to be understood in the sense of psy- 
chological measures. Suppose that a coin left in the 
right hand passed seemingly into the left hand. If 
the conjurer -would open the left hand immediately 
and show that the coin was not in it, the spectator 
would easily find the proper explanation, namely that 
the dollar never passed into the left hand. But if he 
waits one or two moments before he shows the hand 
open in order that the spectators get used to the 
thought that it holds the coin, and if he rubs the 
palm of the left hand gently with the right hand, he 
not only gives the latter a proper occupation but also 



PSYCHOLOGY 01' THE ART OF CONJURING. 153 

•gives the spectators an impression that the mysteri- 
ous movement of the right hand is in some way the 
cause of the disappearance of the coin. One must 
•experience how such trifles can deceive sharp and 
competent observers. The spectator knows in the 
abstract very well that the rubbing of the palm with 
the fingers of the other hand is no adequate reason for 
the disappearance of the coin, but as the disappear- 
ance is beyond a doubt, the mind involuntarily ac- 
cepts the explanations offered indirectly. 

The really senseless "ruffling" of cards works in 
the same way. Suppose the case that the conjurer 
puts a certain card in a certain place in the pack 
necessary for the trick without the spectator being 
aware of it. First he shows that everything is in its 
proper place, he ruffles the cards and most spectators 
believe that the transposition took place in that 
moment and will understand less about the trick than 
they would otherwise. This last trick can be counted 
among those belonging to the category of diversion of 
attention. By awakening interest for some unim- 
portant detail the conjurer concentrates the attention 
on some false point, or negatively, diverts it from the 
main object, and we all know the senses of an inat- 
tentive person are pretty dull. The pickpocket is 
psychologist enough to select theatres and exhibitions 
for the field of his exploits, because he is sure that 
in such places people pay little attention to watch 
and pocketbook. Just so the conjurer never reveals 
in advance the full nature of a trick, that the spec, 
tator may not know where to center his attention. 



154 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A JUGGLER. 

The French conjurer Decremps gave a similar rule. 
When causing the disappearance of some object the 
conjurer counts one, two, three, the object must really 
disappear before three, not at three, because the at- 
tention of the public being directed to three, they do 
not notice what happens at one or two. Personally 
we have often wondered at our own unpretentious 
performances before friends how men of deep re- 
search can be so blind to what takes place before 
their eyes. The course of thought of the unitiatecl 
never goes the natural way. He cannot imagine 
that the conjurer works with such simple means and 
such boldness. He looks for the most complicated 
hypothesis, or leads everything back to a favorite 
performance, as for instance, the disappearing of the 
object up the coat sleeve, which is very seldom used 
in practice. ' But no matter what he does it will 
always be possible to divert him for the moment so 
that the coup can be made unnoticed. 

A specially successful method of diversion is 
founded on the human craze for imitation. We are 
inclined to imitate all actions we have witnessed. If 
we see somebody yawn, we yawn also, if .we see 
him laugh, we feel a tickling in the corners of our 
mouth, if we see him turn around we have the same 
wish, if he look upwards we do the same. The con- 
jurer counts on this in many cases. He always 
looks in the direction where he wants the attention of 
the public, and does everything himself which he 
wants the public to do. If he looks pensively at the 
ceiling, the heads of all present turn with an audible 



PSYCHOLOGY OF THE ART OF CONJURING. 155 

movement upwards, and it is a funny sight during 
this to see how the fingers exchange cards quietly or 
perform some other manipulations. If the trick is 
in the left hand the conjurer turns sharply to the 
person to his right presuming correctly that the 
spectators will make the same movement and will 
not notice what is going on in the left hand. In a 
great number of tricks he must bring a card- to the 
top of the pack that has been placed in the middle 
of the pack. Naturally it would be wrong to make 
the necessary movement as soon as he has the card, 
because even the quickest and most skillful execution 
would be noticed by the spectators. On the contrary 
the conjurer holds the pack quietly and after a short 
pause asks the one who drew the card : "You are 
sure you will recognize the card again?" As soon 
as he begins to speak everybody will involuntarily 
look at his face and he can then "make the pass" in 
an easy manner. Every sharp short remark will for 
a moment at least divert the eyes from the hands- 
and direct them to the mouth, according to the above 
mentioned law of imitation. 

Enough of the results of theoretical research for 
the practice of magic. The relations to scientific 
psychology are numerous and varied. Let us look at 
the series of experiments by Houdin which treated on 
a momentary perception and counting of different 
objects. These objects deserve attention because 
they show a new way to class the higher actions of 
the soul-life numeratively. Psycho-Physics has con- 
fined itself till now to the lower psychical functions 



156 ABOUND THE WORLD WITH A JUGGLER. 

of the senses with the reaction in motions or judg- 
ments. Mr. Ebbinghaus some years ago began to 
put down complicated processes in numbers. This 
searcher examines how many words or syllables a 
person can remember, after hearing them once, 
further how often he must repeat a certain number of 
words to know them, how often he must repeat the 
same process after a few hours or a few days and 
what practice has to do with it. The same thought 
underlies Houdin's series. It treats of the slowly 
acquired faculty of giving the number of objects 
after looking at them once without any conscious 
addition, in other words it treats of that peculiar 
faculty of developed beings which can be called un- 
conscious counting. According to the French con- 
jurer and to the occasional communications of Mr. 
Preyer and others, the limit of a momentary calcula- 
tion lies between 5 and 6, and that would correspond 
with the limit beyond which we cannot remember 
one syllable words by hearing them only once. This 
shows a new possibility which deserves consideration, 
to put the mystery of our inner life in numbers and 
dates. When besides the number a description of 
the object is asked for, the task is complicated in a 
way which makes the solution much more difficult. 
Then the "interest" comes into play. A lady who 
can scarcely remember four equal objects at once can 
describe accurately the toilet of a lady who passed 
her in a carriage. Therefore the psychologist will be 
able to do but little with Houdin's second series. 
The trick to make an orange disappear in the air, 



PSYCHOLOGY OF THE. ART OF CONJURING. 157 

looks at first to be a positive hallucination. We 
mention the peculiar fact that even in quite normal 
persons artificial representations can be produced 
which have the character of outwardly induced per- 
ceptions, without there being anything' in reality to 
bring them forth. The apparition however requires 
first a preceding attraction of the senses which re- 
moves it from hallucinations and brings it near to 
the so-called perception of repetition, and secondly 
there is no outward attraction. There is no object 
flying up as substitute for the false conception of the 
orange, but only a motion. But the impression on 
the senses made by the motion is sufficient to pro- 
duce the repeated picture of the associated object. 
We have to deal with an illusion, the subjective 
interpolating of a given object of perception. Men- 
tally and physically healthy persons have illusions, 
especially when fear or other effects excite the imag- 
ination. Those who understand hypnotism know 
that the concentration of all soul faculties on one 
certain effect will produce this effect subjectively. 
Whilst there are no positive hallucinations to be 
found in the realm of deception, there are enough 
negative hallucinations. A positive hallucination 
makes you see something which does not exist, a 
negative causes you to see where there is something. 
Who has not happened to look for an object which 
was right before his eyes? The impression on the 
senses exists, is received, but not taken into con- 
sciousness, and in this way a momentary condition 
of soul-blindness is produced in which negative 



158 ABOUND THE WOELD WITH A JUGGLEE. 

hallucinations are possible. The conjurer produces 
artificially such abstractions and uses them system- 
atically for his purposes. Mr. Moll says very cor- 
rectly that "the perception of objects can be 
prevented in hypnotized people by suggestion." 
Look at the conjurer's hands and pay close attention, 
and you will see how he conceals objects, makes the 
pass, and how he exchanges cards right before the 
eyes of the spectators. The conjurer however knows 
how to attract the attention by adroit speeches, so 
that even those who see the hands are not able to ex- 
plain the transactions. The exchange of cards for 
instance is seen by the spectator, the sense is excited, 
hut it does not touch consciousness. We can- go 
further yet in citing analogies between the psychology 
of hypnotism and of prestidigitation than Moll has 
^one. 

In conclusion we will mention a contribution 
which magic gives us for the compression of free 
w 7 ill. The well known trick of having a card drawn 
from a pack and to correctly name the card im- 
mediately, consists in that the spectator believes 
lie is choosing one himself, while the conjurer con- 
fines the will and forces it into a certain direction, 
^mostly by putting the card to be selected in an easy 
place, or by moving it forward at the moment when 
-the fingers of the person reach for it. There is 
probably no better illustration for the determination 
of all of our actions ; and in playing the cards of the 
game of life, we do not seize haphazard any card but 
•select those which some known law prescribes for us. 



PSYCHOLOGY OF THE ART OF CONJURING. 159 

"Spiritualism is magic." You often hear this ex- 
planation made by those who do not know, and a 
number of harmless fellows try to prove it by "anti- 
spiritualistic demonstrations." The kernel of the 
thing is not reached thereby as is proved by the ever 
increasing number of the followers of the new doc- 
trine, and by the number of scholars who persist in 
the defence of mediumistic facts notwithstanding all 
exposures. 

The principal reason seems to be the following : 
In our age of natural science, religion and philosophy 
do not offer the masses support enough to gain clear- 
ness about the problem of life. Still the metaphys- 
ical need of all deeper minds drives them over the ma- 
terialistic desert ; spiritualism in the armour of exact 
science steps in and says : I will prove to you, that 
there is a life after death. Can it be wondered at 
that such experimental ethics find a loud echo in 
thoughtful people, and that a social stir takes the 
place of the seeds of those beliefs which have existed 
at all times and with all nations ? 

The circumspect science is powerless against such 
streams. He who believes with all his heart in spir- 
itualism cannot be convinced by reasoning; logic 
always succumbs to feeling and humors. It will 
therefore be useless to throw a few drops of water into 
the fire of psychological epidemic. 

Side by side with the fanatics of the spirit belief 
are many who consider it their duty to examine in an 
unprejudiced mind all remarkable reports and all 
phenomena. For those only are meant the following 



160 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A JUGGLER. 

remarks as a sort of application of the foregoing ex- 
planations. 

We owe our knowledge of mecliumistic apparitions 
almost without exception to written reports. In other 
words : we never know what has happened somewhere, 
but only what certain persons believe to have experi- 
enced. 

There is a great difference between the two, as we 
have seen. A person sees an orange disappear in the 
air, without being able to explain the wonder ; he be 
lieves to have examined eight rings, while he only had 
two in his hands ; he believes to have drawn a card 
according to his own free will, while it was put in his 
fingers; he believes to have held an object continu- 
ally while it was in quite a different place for some 
minutes. When later on he describes these tricks to 
a third person the latter considers them incompre- 
hensible. It is extremely naive when the reporters 
maintain to render exactly the objective transactions 
in describing their subjective observations. 

Davy's experiments are a proof of the reverse. 
This gentleman who is a member of the London So- 
ciety for Psychical Eesearch and was a prestidigitateur 
from inclination, acquired by constant practice such 
a perfection in the well known slate writing, that he 
gave successful performances before numerous people. 
He never told the guests that he had communications 
from the spirits, nor that it was magic, he let every- 
one think whatever he pleased. After the seance, 
which was given free of charge, Mr. Davey requested 
those present to send him on the following day their 



PSYCHOLOGY OF THE ART OF CONJURING. 1 <J L 

impressions in writing. He published the letters re- 
ceived which sound so extraordinary that one could 
believe in secret forces. 

Writing on slates which were closed and kept care- 
fully secluded ; writing on slates which were pressed 
by the witnesses against the lower surface of the ta- 
ble or held by them near the table ; answers to ques- 
tions which were written secretly in double slates; 
correct quotations from books which had been chosen 
at random by other witnesses, sometimes only in 
thought, when the books were not even touched by 
the medium and the slates carefully w T atched ; 
messages in different languages unknown to the 
medium. 

Although self-writing pieces of slate pencil were 
heard and moving pieces of chalk were seen, none of 
the spectators saw the most interesting phenomenon, 
namely, the writing of Mr. Davey. 

The sources from which come such exaggerated 
reports can be classed in four groups. First : the 
observer interpolates a fact which did not occur, but 
which he has been forced to believe to have occurred, 
he imagines he has examined the slate, when in fact 
he has not. Second : he confuses two like ideas ; he 
says he has examined the slates thoroughly when in. 
reality he only did. it superficially or without knowl- 
edge of the main points. Third : the witness changes 
the order of events according to a very easy decep- 
tion of memory. In his opinion he examined the 
slates much later than he really did. Fourth and 
last ; he overlooks certain details which he has been 



162 ABOUND THE WORLD WITH A JUGGLER. 

purposely told were of no consequence, he does not 
mention that the medium asked him once to close the 
window, by which the trick was made possible. You 
cannot remember everything much less write it down. 
How difficult it is to write in unobjectionable com- 
pleteness an every day occurrence, how much more 
difficult to describe an event which bears the charac- 
ter of the inexplicable and which by its skipping ap- 
pearance makes a constant observation almost im- 
possible. 

Added to this, most people go to the seances ex- 
pecting wonders. Mr. Davey has proved by experi- 
ments that of equally able spectators, those are better 
capable of seeing through the modus operandi who 
know that magic is at work. It is easy to understand 
how expectancy, the charm of mystery and the crude 
illusions to the most sacred affairs of the heart (by 
citing dead relations) must excite the nerves and im- 
pair the sharp eye. Besides the medium is specially 
careful to leave the audience in doubt as to the inter- 
pretation of what has been seen and heard and this 
psychical condition of the spectators holds the key for 
many otherwise inexplicable events. Every rustling 
passes for a rap. every light reflection for a spirit 
form, every accidental touch for the manifestation 
from higher spheres. The spectator overlooks the 
natural, physical explanation on one side and on the 
other creates wonders out of nothing. He infects 
others with his excitement and is in his turn influ- 
enced by them. 

The same form which is recognized by a spectator 



PSYCHOLOGY OF THE ART OF CONJURING. 163 

m cold blood as the skillfully draped figure of the 
medium, is taken by the audience asthe faithful image 
of different persons who in their lifetime had no re- 
semblance whatever. 

An American naturalist tells us he had to put his 
hands to his head when he heard the same puppet 
addressed as "grandmother," "my sweet Betty," 
"papa," "little Rob." Everybody sees what he ex- 
pects to see, and what touches his interests most 
closely. Create a belief and the facts will come of 
themselves. 

When an object disappears or changes its place, 
the spiritualist sees in the fact a sign of supernatural 
influence, like the Papuan who suspects a spirit be- 
hind every cannon-ball. Because he does not know 
powder, he lacks certain knowledge without which it 
is impossible to judge rightly. 

Common sense alone does not entitle a person to 
judge competently of the safety of fetters, only the 
man who is familiar with the technic of knots and 
the different ways of tying can express an opinion. 
To decide whether a closure is right or not, requires 
technical knowledge. Most people imagine that they 
can go unprepared to a spiritualistic seance and pass 
a correct opinion on the existence or non-existence of 
prestidigitation. This standpoint is as childish as 
when a layman expresses himself on the genuineness 
of the seal of the middle-ages or on the nature of a 
nervous affection. 

Let us explain this with an example. 

The conjurer often uses the trick to make an oc- 



164 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A JUGGLER. 

currence of greater importance by referring it to a 
heterogeneal bearer. The trick to make "any watch 
a repeater," consists in that a little watch carried in 
the pocket makes the sound and the manipulations? 
with the watch are only made apparently. Those 
who do not know this, will hardly think that the- 
harmonica of Monk and Home, played by invisible 
hands can be explained in the same way. A con- 
stant number in Dr. Monk's program was to put a 
musical box on the table, to cover it with a cigar box 
and to make it play and stop as desired. General 
explanation: "Spirits." In reality the sounds pro- 
ceeded from a musical box, which concealed by the 
wide trousers was carried above the knee and set in 
motion by being pressed against the table. Here also 
the old psychological rule proves true : the simpler 
a trick, the harder it is to find it out. 

A great advantage for the deceiving medium lies 
in the fact that he makes "conditions for his success," 
and at the worst gets the blame of a failure on the 
audience or on the spirits. We hear that half- dark- 
ness is very advantageous, because it is 'positive,' 
that we must never look where something is in its de- 
velopment, and other nice things. Mrs. Sidgwick, 
the wife of the well known Cambridge professor of 
philosophy and president of the Society for Psychical 
Kesearch counts five reasons for doubt in Slade's per- 
formances : his efforts to divert attention, his position 
which always allows him to manipulate the slate 
with his right hand, the vague character of his com- 
munications, the limitation of the spectators to two- 



PSYCHOLOGY OF THE ART OF CONJURING. 105 

or three and the way he places them, which excludes 
all possibility of their looking under the table. 

She might have added, that according to the ob- 
servation of Seybert's commission Slade and other 
mediums, with the genuine conjurer's craftiness, per- 
form the tricks before they announce what is going 
to happen. 

To the accomplished magician and conjurer it is 
comparatively easy to explain the smallest fractions 
of spiritualistic experiences through the psychology 
of magic. I mean to say that they can be traced to 
deceitful manipulations, and to the use of known 
means. In reaching this conclusion, diametrically 
opposite to that of Dr. Dessoir, I am not only ex- 
pressing my own opinion but also that of many per- 
sons of many years experience in spiritualistic 
circles. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

BELLACHINI. 

Bellachini probably ttie most popular of modern 
German conjurers, was born on the 5th of May, 1828, 
at Ligotta, in Kussian Poland. He was the son of a 
hotel-keeper named Berlach. During the first thirty 
years of his life he led a nomadic existence passing 
through many adventures and visiting many coun- 
tries, which seems to be the lot of all conjurers. Ac- 
cording to what he himself said, he did not think 
much of school when he was a boy and it was a hard 
matter to keep him engaged for any length of time in 
any one occupation ; he tried to learn several trades 
and confesses he remained longer at the carpenter 
and joiner's trades than he did at anything else, but 
he did not show much taste for this, and hence to use 
his own words "devoted himself to conjuring," which 
he took up in a very adventurous manner. 

His father at last finding he could do nothing 
with him in their little country village, gave him 
$10.00 and started him on the way to America, 
where he finally arrived after shipping as cabin-boy 
on a vessel from London. 

It seems the young adventurer was not pleased 
with America, because he soon stowed himself away 



BELLACHINI. 167 

on board a steam-ship bound for Lisbon; arriving 
there he at once started to walk the long distance to 
his home. On the way he fell in with a band of gyp- 
sies with whom he traveled about for a long time. 

It was during this vagabond existence that the 
nimble fingered young man developed the tricks, 
which in later years stood him in such good stead 
and conduced so much towards his success in the pro- 
fession of which he became a master. 

It was at this time that he formed the idea of be- 
coming a professional conjurer. 

He commenced his conjuring performances in a 
very modest manner, introducing his simple tricks at 
fairs to the intense astonishment of the simple mind- 
ed natives who always flock in great numbers to 
these annual festivals. 

In Kalitsch he fortunately made the acquaintance 
of a merchant who supplied him with sufficient 
means to purchase a proper outfit of conjuring appa- 
ratus, with which he could give performances in high- 
er circles. From this time on he made rapid prog- 
ress and in a short time he had laid by a handsome 
sum, all made, as he so frequently expressed, "by 
nimble fingers alone without any visible apparatus." 

He married the daughter of a very prominent 
physician and changed his common name of Berlach 
into the high-sounding name of Bellachini. Under 
this name he became known through entire Europe. 
Although he made a few tours in foreign countries he 
passed most of his time in Germany, where he suc- 
ceeded in making both fame and fortune. 



168 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A JUGGLER. 

He received many decorations and was highly 
honored. His manner was exceedingly jovial and he 
was known far and wide for charity, and thoroughly 
understood how to enliven interest in the Art of Con- 
juring, which he brought to the front and made ex- 
ceedingly popular in all circles. 

He confined himself strictly to Magical perform- 
ances, always investing in the latest and best tricks 
•and apparatus. 

He neither knew nor made use of any anti-spirit- 
ualistic tricks, so often introduced by English and 
American conjurers, and although he made a suc- 
cess with the tricks he purchased and used, there 
were many tricks which when first shown to him he 
could not fathom. It was therefore easy for some 
spiritualists in Berlin who called him in as an expert 
to witness their tests, to secure from him a statement 
that such things could not be accomplished by con- 
juring. But a few years later it was shown that 
these spiritualistic feats were nothing else than clever 
conjuring. 

Hundreds of anecdotes are told about him, most 
of which relate to his peculiar language, for instance, 
it is related that while giving a performance in a pal- 
ace in the presence of Counts, Princess' and high 
dignitaries, he asked, "if anyone present happened 
to have a clean handkerchief?" nobody could take 
offense at his manner, but on the contrary looked at 
it as a humorous accompaniment of his trick. 

It is generally well known how he came to be ap- 
pointed Court Performer ; he was giving a perforin- 



BELLACHINI. 109 

a nee in the presence of Emperor William the 1st, in 
the Royal Palace ; after showing the Emperor several 
tricks in Bleight of hand, Beilachini handed the Em- 
peror a pen and requested him to write the words, 
"Bella cliini knows nothing," the Emperor tried to 
write, but the pen refused to do its duty, whereupon 
Beilachini said: "Write, Beilachini is. Court Artist," 
which the Emperor did, this time the pen obeyed, and 
the Emperor added smiling: "A German Emperor 
always keeps his word, especially what he has writ- 
ten."* 

Beilachini suffered an attack of apoplexy in 1882, 
from which he soon recovered and said in a joking 
manner, that ho had "conjured the pain away." This 
attack, however, so weakened his hands, that he was 
unable to execute his best effects and in 1883 he lost 
his favorite son, whose death was caused by the pre- 
mature explosion of a pistol. Beilachini failed rap- 
idly after this and soon suffered the final stroke that 
carried him off quickly, on the 25th of January 1885. 

A very attractive number in a magicians pro- 
gramme is any comical trick with eggs and the follow- 
ing description of Bellachini's famous egg trick will no 
doubt prove interesting to the reader. 

In the best days of Bellachini's -professional career 
he introduced this trick every evening in his programme 
and always created much amusement with it. One 
of Bellachini's assistants stood near the back of the 
stage a little to one side, apparently awaiting his 
commands, finally Beilachini would cause an egg to 
disappear only to reappear in the mouth of this as- 



170 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A JUGGLER. 

sistant, who seemed to be resting carelessly with 
both hands behind him. He however, held three 
fresh eggs in each hand and in his mouth was con- 
cealed a hard boiled egg from which the shell had been 
removed; this was a necessary precaution, because 
having to hold the egg for some time in his mouth, he 
might find it necessary to cough or might laugh at 
some trick of Bellachini's which would be a danger- 
ous thing to do if he had a fresh egg in his mouth ; 
should such a catastrophe occur ' he could at once 
swallow the boiled egg. When Bellachini had caused 
an egg to disappear at the end of some trick he would 
walk ever to his assistant to find the missing egg in 
his mouth, and taking a position at his side he would 
strike or press him on his stomach with the left hand, 
at the same time pressing his right against the assist- 
ant's back, when the latter would open his mouth and 
allow the egg therein to protrude a little. Meantime 
Bellachini had taken with his right hand an egg from 
the assistants hand and just at the moment when he 
opened his mouth to show the egg, Bellachini would 
bring his right hand holding the palmed egg directly 
up in front of the assistants mouth, the latter would 
at once allow the boiled egg to slip back into his 
mouth and Bellachini would shove the egg concealed 
in his hand a slight distance into the mouth of as- 
sistant, and at once open his hand, thus appar- 
ently taking the egg from the assistants mouth. 
Placing the egg on a plate he would push up both 
sleeves, show both hands empty, and then repeat 
the trick as many times, as there were eggs in the 



BELLACHINI. 171 

assistants hands. Occasionally Bellachini would 
turn the assistant around with his back to the au- 
dience to show that he had nothing concealed in 
his hands, of course, this was previously under- 
stood and before being turned around the assistant 
would put whatever eggs he held in his hands in 
his coat-tail pockets and allow his hands to drop 
for a few moments at his side, as soon as he took 
the first position again he would immediately take 
the eggs out of his pockets to enable Bellachini to 
proceed with the trick as before. While this was 
going on Bellachini's second assistant, a colored 
boy, would walk on the other side of the stage 
bringing a plate upon which Bellachini would place 
the eggs produced from the first assistants mouth, 
then placing the plate on the table and looking 
sharply at the colored assistant Bellachini would 
strike him back of the head and take from his 
mouth a black or brown egg. After producing an 
egg from first one and than the other "he would in 
•conclusion produce a black egg from the mouth of 
his first assistant and a white egg from the colored 
boys mouth, by thus changing about he would cre- 
ate much laughter and a great deal of amusement. 

In this trick Bellachini has had many imitators, 
but very few have executed it with the skill and 
laugh-creating powers which he possessed. 

A comical feature of this egg production and 
one not yet adopted by American performers is, 
while the professor is bending forward a little, press- 
ing on the stomach of the assistant, for the latter to 



172 AROUND THE WORLD WITH A JUGGLER. 

strike liim on the back of his head and then the 
professor straightens up and produces an egg from 
his own mouth, with as many comical grimaces as 
possible. Of course, at the proper time a few sec- 
onds before he had smuggled this egg into his own. 
mouth. 



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